Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco details what his goals are for 2023
As a kid growing up playing football, there is just one thing on your mind. When you make the NFL, your dreams have officially come true. It's everything you have ever worked for. That's why you see guys get so emotional on draft night. No matter where they were drafted, be it the number one […]
As a kid growing up playing football, there is just one thing on your mind. When you make the NFL, your dreams have officially come true. It's everything you have ever worked for. That's why you see guys get so emotional on draft night. No matter where they were drafted, be it the number one pick, or the very last, getting to hear your name on that stage is a surreal feeling these guys work their whole lives for.
Then you have to set new goals and new dreams to achieve. For most players, winning a Super Bowl or becoming a starter is the next step. Some even dream about becoming the greatest player of all time. So what does a guy who has already accomplished most of that in just one full season do now?
Isiah Pacheco, the Kansas City Chiefs' now starting running back, was drafted in the seventh round. For most people, there was no shot. He would be the starting running back by year's end in the biggest game of anyone's career. In all honesty, a seventh-round running back isn't supposed to make the roster when you have a guy ahead of you get drafted in the first round a few years prior.
But he did; check that one off the list. Then Pacheco stole Clyde Edwards-Helaire's job. Pacheco is now a starter and even started in the postseason. Check that off. Pachecob ran for a touchdown in the Super Bowl, in which his team won. Check that off.
So where does he go now in terms of personal and career goals? He was asked that, and his answer is pretty simple, yet it seems super obtainable.
"Detailing my notes more, just finding little things to get better at, and, you know, I want to run for 1000 yards," Pacheco told reporters on Thursday. "So that's the goal, obviously, but it starts here today, practice day by day… I trust the staff, and we're able to work out a plan. I'm getting back into shape, and we're working."
Pacheco started only part of the season, and, let's be honest; the Chiefs don't run the ball a ton. Yet, somehow Pacheco still had 800 rushing yards. With him being the full-time starter, health is the only thing standing in his way.
Pacheco isn't the best runner in the world. He isn't the fastest guy in the world and could be more talented. However, you'd need help finding a guy who runs harder, is tougher, and works harder than Pacheco. If that's his goal, you better believe he will ensure it gets accomplished.
However, the goal can be lofty when you think of this Chiefs offense. They want to throw the ball a lot, which could take Pacheco out of the game. Jerick McKinnon and CEH are both great at catching passes out of the backfield. If they start seeing success there, who is to say the Chiefs won't let them in on a few more running plays to feed the hot hand?
Pacheco plays a physical style of running. He takes a lot of hits, and while it didn't bother him this last season, he had a few injuries to end the year. Next year, you never know what can happen. Either way, the organization believes he can accomplish the goal he has set for himself.
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Featured Image Via Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
