Isiah Pacheco to start for Chiefs vs 49ers

It’s being reported by multiple sources this morning that the Chiefs 7th round rookie will get the starting nod today in San Francisco over Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who still figures to be a factor in the backfield today.

The hype train that departed the station in training camp appears to have reached its destination terminal with the news that Kansas City Chiefs rookie running back Isiah Pacheco will get the start today against the 49ers.

While incumbent Clyde Edwards-Helaire has held down the role through the first six weeks of the season, Pacheco has flashed an aggressive and explosive running style both while carrying the ball and catching passes out of the backfield thus far in 2022.

Pacheco spent the week taking reps with the first-team offense in preparation for this move. While Andy Reid and the coaching staff have made no formal announcements of the move yet, it would appear that we are heading towards an outcome for which Chiefs Kingdom has been clamoring for quite some time. Between frustrations with the Chiefs’ offensive scheme, about Edwards-Helaire himself, and glimpses of the angry running style that Pacheco touts, this will undoubtedly come as exciting news for the fan base—and it should be.

The move to start Pacheco should signal that Reid, Eric Bieniemy, and the offensive staff have clearly recognized a trend in how to unlock the best version of this Chiefs offense: establishing an aggressive rushing offense early. If you look at the two games that Kansas City has broken out in offensively—at Arizona in Week 1 and at Tampa Bay in Week 4—the Chiefs came out of the gates with a commitment to the run game and stood by it, allowing the offensive line to gain traction and play with confidence.

Not so coincidentally, those two games are where Pacheco has seen the most work, and he has shined with 23 carries for 125 yards (5.43 YPC) and a touchdown. Even with Pacheco starting, it still stands to reason that Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon will still play a pivotal role in the Chiefs’ offensive game plan in Week 7 and beyond. Edwards-Helaire has 59 rush attempts on the season for 256 yards and 2 TDs but has been lethal in the passing attack near the goal line. His 5 touchdowns through 6 games are second to only Travis Kelce thus far.

Not only does this move force the 49ers to be more patient in their pass rush as opposed to letting Nick Bosa and Drake Jackson pin their ears back and go, but it also put the guys up front in a more aggressive mindset. Multiple times this season, you have been able to see Joe Thuney, Orlando Brown Jr, and/or Creed Humphrey motioning to the sideline to call for the staff to continue to pound the ball. With Pacheco, the Chiefs have a player who can push that initiative.

The move could be one spurred by matchup advantages that Andy Reid and the staff see for this particular game against San Francisco, or it could signal a changing of the guard for the remainder of the season. Either way, it would be naive to think that the Chiefs will fully shift their mindset from running back by committee to a full bell cow back approach. Expect to see more of the same with all three running backs getting opportunities depending on the situation this afternoon.

The most exciting part about this news? The Chiefs are tops in the league in scoring so far in 2022 and still trying to make tweaks to improve their offensive production as the season progresses. The commitment to constantly improving with a willingness to change is there, which is somewhat new in Kansas City.