Raybon warned that Isiah Pacheco is skating on thin ice despite his current ADP. The former seventh-rounder mustered just 3.6 yards per carry in 2023, was a near non-factor as a receiver and struggled at the goal line, issues that allowed journeyman Kareem Hunt—averaging only 4.0 YPC since 2021—to outplay him down the stretch. Raybon noted Kansas City spent another seventh-round pick on 4.39-speed rookie Bershard Smith (1,650 yards, 18 TDs at SMU) and is bringing in veterans Elijah Mitchell and even fullback/special-teamer Carson Steele for carries. Because the Chiefs showed no hesitation moving on from Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Raybon sees Pacheco’s draft status offering little job security and expects the backfield to morph into a committee—or even flip to Smith—well before fantasy playoffs. He advised best-ball and redraft managers to ship Pacheco now, before camp hype exposes the fragility of his role.

Steph Miller said she is more comfortable clicking Isiah Pacheco in the late-fourth/early-fifth round now that Kansas City refused to spend real draft capital at running back. The Chiefs waited until the final rounds to add only a depth piece (Rashard Smith), a move Steph read as a loud vote of confidence in Pacheco’s three-down profile. She reminded listeners that recency bias from his February shoulder surgery temporarily pushed his ADP into the 70s, but the role never disappeared—Pacheco accounted for 72% of Kansas City’s red-zone carries after Week 10 last year and averaged 19.4 opportunities in games where he topped 50% snaps. Without meaningful competition and with Patrick Mahomes still forcing light boxes (league-leading 6.3 defenders in the box per Sports Info Solutions), Steph views Pacheco as a rare back who can deliver both floor and spike weeks on a Super Bowl favorite. She is actively scooping him any time he drifts past pick 50 in Best Ball Mania 6 drafts.

Matthew Wiley reiterated his long-standing love for Isiah Pacheco, immediately shouting "RB1, RB1" after JSU read Andy Reid’s offseason quote that the back has "put on weight and looks really healthy." Wiley said that single endorsement is all he needs to bet on Pacheco to finish as the overall RB1 in Best Ball. With no established competition for touches in Kansas City and the Chiefs’ offense habitually living in the red zone, Wiley is jamming Pacheco ahead of ADP and building lineups around a breakout, workhorse season.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound told viewers to scoop Isiah Pacheco before the market wakes up. He pushed back on the narrative that Pacheco "looked bad" late in 2023, noting the second-year runner was still shaking off multiple offseason surgeries when he returned and admittedly needed a few weeks to regain burst. Pat argued drafters ignoring that context—and pointing to Kareem Hunt out-snapping him—are going to feel "pretty silly in a couple months" once a fully healthy Pacheco shows his normal explosiveness in camp. With Kansas City declining to add meaningful backfield competition and Pacheco already locked into red-zone work on the league’s premier offense, Pat expects his ADP to climb at least a full round by August.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound said grabbing Isiah Pacheco around pick 96 is “probably pretty smart.” He acknowledged that Kansas City plans to roll out a four-back rotation this season but argued the market has already baked that risk into Pacheco’s sliding Underdog price. Pat reminded viewers the Chiefs still finished top-8 in points per drive last year and project for multiple dome or mild-weather games in the fantasy playoffs. At a full round discount from his early-April ADP, Pacheco gives drafters inexpensive exposure to Patrick Mahomes’ red-zone snaps while preserving roster flexibility for hero-RB or zero-RB builds. Pat’s bottom line: treat the committee chatter as noise and continue smashing any Pacheco slips into the mid-90s.

Sean Koerner continues to fade Isiah Pacheco, ranking him RB42 versus an RB33 price on Underdog. Pacheco’s yards per touch have slipped three straight seasons (5.2 → 4.7 → 4.1), and the Chiefs clearly noticed, re-signing Kareem Hunt, acquiring Elijah Mitchell and drafting SMU workhorse Richard Smith. Koerner warned that late-round picks like Pacheco (7th-round) often regress once the team brings in legitimate competition, citing the Clyde Edwards-Helaire precedent. With a realistic committee forming and no guarantee of goal-line exclusivity, Koerner projects only 10–12 touches per game and sees more downside than upside at current cost, preferring higher-ceiling backs in the same range.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound called Isiah Pacheco one of the simplest early-summer buying opportunities. He said Pacheco, along with Brian Robinson and D’Andre Swift, is "scattered throughout the board" but routinely goes 10–15 picks later than he should. Pat classified them as "small little values" that stack easy closing-line equity without having to burn early-round capital. Grabbing Pacheco at the current discount lets drafters focus on hammering wide receivers early while still locking in dependable RB production once drafts tighten and ADPs correct.

Nez Badge Bros called Isiah Pacheco a "draft winner" in Eliminator rooms after the Chiefs left the draft without adding meaningful backfield competition. Kansas City was willing to feed Pacheco 20+ touches in multiple playoff games despite him rushing back from shoulder surgery, which Nez viewed as evidence the team trusts him as its early-down hammer. Pacheco cost a fourth-round pick last summer but is now available nearly two rounds cheaper; Nez expects a modest ADP rise once casual drafters notice the Chiefs’ depth chart is unchanged. Even if Andy Reid eventually shifts to a committee late in the year—historically common in KC—the front-loaded volume Pacheco provides can single-handedly carry rosters through the high-attrition early weeks of the one-on-one format.

Davis Mattek warned drafters that Isiah Pacheco carries "the most fragility imaginable" at his late-Round-3/early-Round-4 Best Ball price. Mattek walked through Mike Clay’s initial projection that gives Pacheco 183 carries and 47 targets but immediately pointed out the red flags: 1) Kansas City just brought back Kareem Hunt and Clay has him penciled in for 115 carries and 24 targets—real work that could push Pacheco into a two-down role. 2) The Chiefs also added Elijah Mitchell plus two rookie backs, creating multiple outs for an in-season committee if Pacheco’s post-surgery burst never returns. 3) Mattek thinks the optimal outcome for Pacheco is actually Hunt starting the year as a placeholder, allowing Pacheco to “ease in,” yet that scenario still delays Pacheco’s scoring window in Best Ball’s highest-leverage early weeks. Given the combination of health uncertainty, competition, and Andy Reid’s historic willingness to ride the hot hand, Mattek advised fading Pacheco at cost or at least pairing him with Hunt when the room sleeps on the veteran.

Pete Overzet said he has been passing on Isiah Pacheco in Best Ball Mania despite Pacheco’s scorching finish to 2024. Pete’s worry is the Andy Reid roulette wheel: every season a different back (Jerick McKinnon in 2022, the late-season rookie in 2023, Kareem Hunt after Pacheco’s injury last year) siphons touches just as fantasy playoffs arrive. Kansas City also has the cap space and front-office history to parachute in a veteran at any point—Pete name-checked Hunt and even Breshard Smith as examples of how quickly the depth chart can flip. In Eliminator drafts he still likes Pacheco’s weeks-1-to-8 workload because a single player can "pass the baton" and help you survive early eliminations, but in BBM—where Weeks 15-17 decide the money—Pete prefers backs on rosters with a clearer year-long touch outlook.

Jason Moore labeled Isiah Pacheco a "big winner" after Kansas City waited until the fourth round to address skill positions, passing on higher-end backs like Trayvion Henderson. Moore noted that Pacheco finished 2024 with 61 percent of backfield touches and saw his red-zone carry share jump to 74 percent over the final six weeks. The only new competition is Elijah Mitchell and veteran Kareem Hunt—depth pieces who combined for just 3.3 yards per carry last year. With the Chiefs reinforcing the offensive line instead of drafting a premium runner, Moore projects another 260-plus touches for Pacheco and a solid mid-RB2 finish. He urged best-ball drafters to snap him up in Round 5 before summer hype corrects his ADP upward.