Around this time last year, the Kansas City Chiefs included veteran linebacker Jerick McKinnon, who would become a playoff player. Meanwhile, the future of Clyde Edwards-Helaire was up in the air, and Ronald Jones was drawing comparisons to Barry Sanders and a rookie in the seventh round of the draft. Rutgers He’s starting to get some attention.
A year later, McKinnon is coming off another impressive season, and Edwards-Helaire still hasn’t met expectations for a first-round pick and Jones is now the third running back to Dallas Cowboys.
But Isiah Pacheco is coming off an unforgettable rookie year.
After receiving limited playing time during the early part of the season, Pacheco burst onto the scene – literally – in the big games in the 10-week 27-17 win over Jacksonville Jaguars And the victory of the eleventh week 30-27 on Los Angeles Chargers.
Delivering an explosive outfield that neither Edwards-Helaire nor McKinnon possessed, he added another dimension to Kansas City’s already dynamic offense – making him even more difficult to stop.
The first installment of a two-part seriesAnd Let’s examine his long-term ability.
Easy blast
The deep coverages head quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes faced in 2021 — along with the team’s decision to trade wide receiver Terek Hill to Miami Dolphin – led to the team’s explosive plays dipping slightly as 2022 began. But a deliberate attacking approach eventually allowed Mahomes to spread the ball between his wide spaces to mark defenses apart.
So as Pacheco’s playing time began to increase, this more balanced passing attack — with Kansas City’s offensive line doing a great job — allowed him to instantly generate big plays in the running game.
Pacheco does a good job of hitting that counter in the A gap instead of trying to follow the barriers. 52 gets the back block and double-team and creates movement. Pacheco rushes to break one tackle and refuses to go down even as Derwin James is late. pic.twitter.com/2qAzWTNL7k
– Caleb James (@CJScoobs) May 19, 2023
Playing this classic counter play (with backside guard and wheel pull), Pacheco shows good vision as he locates the hole and blasts into the second par. When he picks up speed, he cuts to avoid a tackle — and nears his top speed before the Chargers’ Derwin James can finally come to his aid.
The play gained nearly 30 yards – Pacheco touched no more than half that distance.
Pacheco returned explosive plays from the Chiefs’ backyard. One cut as he flew downhill, turning Humphrey into a bullet blocker. Making a 20-yard burst look easy, he runs forward to end the play, and runs back forward to get an extra yard. pic.twitter.com/rmyBgYwrVp
– Caleb James (@CJScoobs) May 24, 2023
Here, the action man grabs the attention of the linebacker while the Chiefs try to run territory to the weak side. Pacheco reads a few large blocks on the play side, cuts to the outside, and slashes to the second level. Following Creed Humphrey – and then running back inside after Marquez Valdes-Scantling made a block – Pacheco makes a 17-yard gain look easy.
Big break
During his time at Rutgers, Pacheco was a huge threat who was mostly used as an outside area. For most of his first season in the NFL, he showed he was a tough runner—but he could only snag gains of 15 to 25 yards.
Late in the season, he showed his game-breaking ability.
Part of Pacheco’s rookie success has to be attributed to his OL. They’ve been ban running all year. With his line crossing vision improving, he was really able to show off his speed on the second level. It is very difficult to calculate with light boxes and wide LB alignments. pic.twitter.com/9f3x3MBjyf
– Caleb James (@CJScoobs) May 25, 2023
Here we see a file Las Vegas Raiders It is set up with five defensive linemen, one linebacker in the penalty area, two deep safeties and three cornerbacks. The Chiefs run their primary play in the middle of the area – a staple of offense – to open up a gap on the right side.
With such a large runway, Pacheco cuts the braces of his sliding arms because he gets too close to walk all the way.
Like most teams against the Chiefs, the Raiders focus on defensive linemen and secondary players to speed up the pass and provide downfield coverage. But they failed to defend the center of the field. This allows Pacheco to run untouched until Safety can stop him.
The moment his team needed it most. Pacheco came up with the biggest streak of the season.
Pacheco’s big run against Jacksonville was crucial to the outcome of the game. He eased the pressure on Heane to go the distance, and put him on the line for a brace. After a year of close calls, Pacheco finally got one when she needed it most. pic.twitter.com/ZXJFliIxPJ
– Caleb James (@CJScoobs) May 25, 2023
With Mahomes on the sidelines — and the offensive line failing to push the line of scrimmage — Pacheco is getting bottled up. Instead of trying to push the mound forward (as he had done earlier in the year), Pacheco keeps working—and when he enters the left side of the caverns, he turns on the burners.
Two defenders coming from the other side of the field are about to get to Pacheco, but he leaves them in the dust. From a corner into the end zone, he tries to force his way in – but is kicked short.
That run changed his field position, setting up Kansas City (and its backup quarterback) for touchdowns. It changed the momentum of the game.
bottom line
When teams face bosses, they will always prioritize stopping Mahomes, choosing to live with the consequences of whatever else might happen. This is exactly where we saw Pacheco flourish in 2022.
His electrifying speed allowed him to generate Four runs of over 20 yards – two of which came in the playoffs – and they allowed him to gain 4.9 yards per attempt in the season and 5.3 yards per attempt in the playoffs.
Pacheco’s next-level speed, physicality of Kansas City’s offensive line – and the team’s running system – turned into a perfect storm as the season progressed.
While Mahomes was having an MVP season that was drawing the full attention of defenses, Pacheco slowly worked his way up to becoming a different kind of big threat—a threat that played a huge role in the team’s championship season.
In Part Two, we’ll examine Pacheco’s downhill running technique.