4. Isiah Pacheco, Running Back
The Chiefs must tackle their running back situation this offseason. Their ground game fizzled in 2024—15th in rushing touchdowns, 22nd in total rushing yards, and a dismal 29th in yards per attempt. That’s a slog that drags down the whole offense.
The weak run game handcuffs Patrick Mahomes’ magic and nudges Andy Reid to lean on quick passes as a makeshift fix. It’s a Band-Aid, not a backbone. Kansas City lacks a star runner and depth to boot.
Samaje Perine and Kareem Hunt hit unrestricted free agency. Hunt paced the team last year with 200 carries, 728 yards, and seven scores, but he turns 30 before 2025 kicks off. Banking on him again feels like a gamble with bad odds.
That leaves Isiah Pacheco as the lone proven back on the roster.
A 2022 seventh-round steal, he stumbled in 2024. His yards-per-carry average—above 4.6 in his first two seasons—crashed to 3.7, slashing his output from 935 yards in 2023 to 310 last year.
A broken fibula in Week 2 sidelined him for a chunk of the season, no doubt tanking his numbers. Even so, the Chiefs can’t pin their 2025 ground hopes on Pacheco alone. His injury and dip expose cracks they can’t ignore.
Free agency offers cheap backs to plug the gap and steady the run game. The Chiefs need a stopgap to bridge today’s mess to tomorrow’s fix.
Pacheco’s not out the door, but his shaky 2024 leaves him on thin ice, as Kansas City hunts for a sturdier backfield foundation.