KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Rookie Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco had three different options to choose from at Vineland High School in Cumberland County, New Jersey.
Pacheco was playing football and basketball his freshman year and started playing baseball too before he backed out. Then he joined the baseball team again in his junior year while continuing to play football and basketball.
Despite batting .475, one of the highest batting averages on the team, and winning an MVP award, Pacheco shifted his focus to football.
“I decided to go with football because this is a contact sport and you’re allowed to hit somebody as hard as you can without getting in trouble,” Pacheco said before grinning from ear to ear.
Getting his first football scholarship from Rutgers University also had something to do with his decision.
His statistics both on the field with the Scarlet Knights and at the combine were enough to get him drafted in the seventh round with the 251st overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Pacheco’s first season in the NFL started slow, only carrying the ball more than 10 times just twice. But a 16-carry, 82-yard performance in Week 10 against the Jacksonville Jaguars shifted the course and he ended the regular season leading the team in rushing yards and touchdowns.
“I couldn't be more blessed and thankful to be in the position I am now,” Pacheco said.
Pacheco is part of a rookie class that he said “loves to compete” and will do “whatever it takes” to help the team win.
He was one of seven rookies that appeared and made an impact in the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The journey for all of them started long before that game, though.
“This rookie class, we came in with the mindset of, we gotta make the team,” Pacheco said. “First, it was to get to (training camp). Second, it was to make the 53-man roster. Third, it was to come here and compete at a Super Bowl. We accomplished those three things.”
Now, he and the rest of the rookies are back in Glendale, Arizona, where the regular season began. This time they will try to help Kansas City win one more game, Super Bowl LVII.
Pacheco has stayed motivated throughout the entire process.
“It's been a long journey but day in and day out, I didn't try to take the easy way out,” Pacheco said. “I was always pushing myself to the highest I can.”
Even with everything that he has achieved at the professional level in just one season, Pacheco didn’t see it coming so quickly.
“'I'm not surprised the hard work got me here, I'm just surprised it happened so fast,” Pacheco said.
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