More on KC Chiefs’ ‘really competitive room’ — where a rookie’s getting 1st-team reps
One of Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach’s most significant interests in training camp will be to see what happens with the team’s running back competition.
“We like that room. It’s gonna be a really competitive room,” Veach told The Star on Thursday. “I’m excited to see those guys do the 9-on-7s, do some of the live stuff now, because it’ll be a lot of fun to watch those guys in pads.”
Though it’s early in drills, the Chiefs also appear to be getting more out of one player than they might’ve expected: seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco, who is rotating through repetitions with the first-team offense.
Pacheco — also the team’s primary kick returner in special teams run-throughs — offers a mix of both power and speed. The 5-foot-10 back tied for the fastest 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine among RBs (4.37 seconds) while packing some punch at 216 pounds.
“I think he’s gonna be pretty good,” Veach said of Pacheco on Thursday. “I think he’s very interesting.”
Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was asked about Pacheco’s development on Saturday, commenting that the rookie was “doing a good job.”
“He just has the right temperament,” Bieniemy said. “He’s just a tough guy that doesn’t take anything for granted. He has that attitude and determined mindset that wants to be great, just like everybody in that group. But at the end of the day, he understands, ‘When I get those opportunities, I have to maximize that opportunity and make the very most of it.’”
Pacheco’s emergence only adds to the intrigue of a backfield that should sit at three to four members before final cuts.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire seems like a lock as a former first-round draft pick who also is being utilized more as a receiver in camp. Free-agent signing Ronald Jones is a straight-ahead back who profiles as an potential fit with the Chiefs’ scheme, with Veach saying Jones was someone the team had initially targeted through the draft process as “a bigger guy with some home-run speed”; the Tampa Bay Buccaneers originally took Jones in the second round of the 2018 draft.
Jerick McKinnon also returns after serving as the team’s most productive ball-carrier in last year’s playoffs, while Derrick Gore (51 rushes last season) and undrafted free-agent Tayon Fleet-Davis from Maryland remain in the mix.
When asked about Pacheco, McKinnon said he was humble with a strong work ethic.
“I know the coaches think highly of him, and so does everybody else on the team,” McKinnon said Saturday. “And just in these last couple of days, he’s showing what he could do with the ball.”
Pacheco, when speaking with reporters at the start of training camp, said his main goal was to stay within himself while competing for a spot.
“Just be the same guy like I did before at Rutgers. Be a team player,” Pacheco said. “Whatever coach wants me to do, I’m going to do it and take advantage of any opportunities.”
At Monday’s practice, Edwards-Helaire, Pacheco and McKinnon received the most snaps with the first-team offense — something that still has time to shift over the next few weeks.
Veach, for one, will be interested to see what happens moving forward.
“That’s a tough running back room now,” Veach said. “That’s gonna be a tough battle.”
This story was originally published August 1, 2022 at 2:25 PM with the headline "More on KC Chiefs’ ‘really competitive room’ — where a rookie’s getting 1st-team reps."
