After an injury-plagued 2024 season that saw him miss nine games with a fractured fibula, Isiah Pacheco is reportedly drawing rave reviews from Andy Reid and the rest of the Chiefs coaching staff.
One of Pacheco’s offseason goals he said was to “gain weight” after shedding more pounds than he wanted to during last year’s recovery. And according to Reid, the difference has been noticeable.
“He looks good. Physically, he looks real good,” Reid said this week. “He’s put on a couple pounds of good weight. He’d gotten himself down there a little bit last year and leaned up, but, man, I think he looks tremendous right now.”
Pacheco himself commented on the added muscle. Telling the Kansas City Star, “Just going back to 216, 4.37 Isiah Pacheco-style.”
“You’re out there working your tail off and just sweating every day and not eating enough to get the weight back,” Pacheco said regarding his drop in weight last season. “There’s not going to be as much time to gain weight during the season, rather than the offseason and the whole program that they have here for us.”
The broken leg really but a nix on the two-time Super Bowl champ’s ’24 campaign and he was (understandably) never really able to get back to his pre-injury form — putting a bit of a strain on Kansas City’s normally reliable run game.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JANUARY 13: Isiah Pacheco #10 of the Kansas City Chiefs runs with the ball during the second half against the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 13, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
David Eulitt/Getty Images
It sounds like Pacheco is already putting that behind him though and is ready to retake his spot in KC’s offense as the team’s battering ram.
The seventh-round pick out of Rutgers had really been a revelation for the Chiefs over the past couple of years and a healthy Isiah Pacheco could be just what they need to remain in championship contention.
