The Kansas City Chiefs have yet again found a guy late in the draft that has become a solid starter. Last year it was offensive lineman Trey Smith, who was a sixth-round pick. This year, it's Isiah Pacheco, out of the seventh round.

The former Rutgers running back is having himself a season since getting the starting role. He is proof the Chiefs are one of the best teams at finding talent late in the draft.

Pacheco is having what you could call a breakout year, in his rookie season. Yeah, it sounds crazy, but when you think about where he was drafted, it's not too crazy to say he is breaking out. There is one person, maybe a few more, in the entire world that saw this coming. He and his family are the only people.

There is one key trait Pacheco has, that has helped him get to where he is today. It's hard to have this at such a young age, too.

“I’ll say this and it sounds simple, he takes coaching," offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said. "He listens. Ok? One thing in this industry, the only way you’re going to learn to improve is to go out there and make a mistake. Sometimes the best thing that you can do is make a mistake. And so, by him having his ‘failures’ when presented, he’s maximizing, made the most of it because he’s learned from what not to do."

I think we have already seen this even on the field. When he first started getting starter snaps, he was running loose but still running with a ton of ferocity. Running like that ended up in a fumble, which the Chiefs lost.

Since then, all you will see from Pacheco when running is how tight he holds the ball. It looks as if no one could punch the ball out. That's the learning Bieniemy is talking about.

"And so, I think he’s a mature kid that – he’s doing a good job right now, knock on wood, I don’t want to jinx it," Bieniemy continued. "But, he’s doing a great job. Coach Lew is making sure he’s staying fundamentally sound with all the details and all the aspects of the things that he needs to do on the field, but on top of that, making sure that he’s taking care of his body the right way."

Pacheco got his first career start in Week 7. Since then, he has started every game. In those six starts, Pacheco has registered 372 yards on 80 carries, which comes out at 4.7 yards per carry, which is pretty good, to say the least.

Those numbers may not be the craziest, but you have to think about the fact that Pacheco was a seventh-round pick, and wasn't really projected to make the active 53-man when he was drafted.

But, it's a testament to his ability to learn.

“Yes, you know as a kid growing up with great parents, my mom and my dad always taught me to be respectful and be a leader, and for me being a leader in high school as a captain, elected as a captain as a freshman, meant a lot to me," Pacheco said.

"And that speaks for itself as a freshman as a captain all four years of high school and then (to) go to college and be a captain, it speaks for itself. For me just carry over the mindset and continue to be a leader on this team will definitely help us.”

Pacheco is on the right track to becoming the Chiefs' full-time starter, and not just the starter when Edwards-Helaire is out.

I don't know if there is a team better at drafting in the later rounds than the Kansas City Chiefs. This is how the Chiefs will continue to compete throughout the next 10 or so years, by building around their quarterback.

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