ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Isiah Pacheco continued an impressive debut preseason Monday with a couple eye-popping catches as the Kansas City Chiefs returned to St. Joseph for the final week of training camp.
The stats from his NFL debut during Saturday’s preseason loss at Chicago hardly jump off the page.
Pacheco only had two carries for six yards with one 5-yard reception, but the balance he showed to break a tackle after snagging his only target provided a tantalizing glimpse of his potential.
“That one catch he had down on our sideline was a heckuva catch and then it was a nice run after the catch,” Reid said.
Pacheco’s potential was also apparent on a 34-yard kickoff return on the opening play of the second half.
He only returned 18 kickoffs while at Rutgers, but Pacheco is in line to handle kickoff return duties for the Chiefs this season.
And now he truly feels like an NFL player.
“It felt to be in that first preseason game,” Pacheco said. “From a kid just waiting all his life to be in an NFL game to actually play in one ... felt great. That’s what I always had the mindset to do, so it was a dream come true that I finally did it.”
Despite that, the moment hardly seemed to overwhelm Pacheco, who said the game didn’t feel faster than during his days with the Scarlet Knights.
“It really didn’t,” Pacheco said. “I don’t know why. I just felt like it didn’t. I felt like I was more confident in the scheme, knowing how I had on each play and being able to execute at a fast pace, which is something that I’ve worked on out here at practice.”
The Pacheco hype train has consistently gathered steam during camp, but he said Monday he was unaware. He’s focused more on making the team and helping the Chiefs flourish.
“I just come out here with the same mindset and ready to practice,” Pacheco said. “Film don’t lie.”
Pacheco said as grateful as he was for all the messages of support from former coaches, former teammates and friends after his NFL debut.
“But I was excited to get on the plane and see what the film looked like,” Pacheco said.
After watching the film, Pacheco said he wants to trust the scheme and the holes his offensive line creates more in addition to running with more patience.
“Getting my feet wet out there and getting more plays in is probably going to help me in the long run and being more confident,” Pacheco said. “... Just having fun, at the end of the day.”
Pacheco hopes Chiefs Kingdom is in full throat Saturday when he makes his debut at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
“They’ve said it’s crazy and there’s a lot of fans there, so for me to be out there with a lot of fans, it’s going to bring a lot more juice to me as well,” Pacheco said.
