ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Just two days after Chiefs head coach Andy Reid questioned whether Isiah Pacheco would be ready for the start of training camp, the starting running back proclaimed himself healthy and that he will “absolutely” start in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions.
“I’m feeling great right now,” Pacheco said after Thursday’s practice. “It’s a process and that takes time and for me to just continue to listen to the staff and trust in myself.”
All eyes on #Chiefs Isiah Pacheco, sporting the yellow non-contact penny for the second straight day pic.twitter.com/hHDRb6gcKY
— Aaron Ladd (@aaronladdtv) July 20, 2023
Pacheco arrived Tuesday on the campus of Missouri Western State University for training camp with the team’s quarterbacks and rookies. After an evaluation with the team’s medical staff and a discussion with Reid, Pacheco was cleared to start practicing. While he was the first running back through the line in position drills, he did not participate in team or 7-on-7 periods.
Each of the last two days he also wore a yellow non-contact jersey during practice. Wednesday he wore a generic yellow mesh jersey; Thursday the equipment staff provided him with a personalized jersey with this name and number similar to the ones worn by quarterbacks at practice.
Pacheco did not participate in the club’s offseason program after coming off a pair of surgeries. He finished the regular season with a torn labrum in his shoulder and then broke a bone in his hand during the AFC Championship game. He gutted through the pain of the injuries in rushing for 76 yards on 15 touches, a clip of 5.1 yards per carry, but notably wasn’t targeted in the passing game.
While the shoulder injury hurt, he said it wasn’t a big problem thanks to the team’s medical and training staff.
“I got a little injured in the championship game,” Pacheco said. “So we had two weeks to recover. I was good with the recovery that we did with the staff and I was able to play. They got me right.”
While the 24-year-old was held back from football activities for much of the offseason, the layoff didn’t erode his boundless energy. Pacheco briskly jogged down the hill from the training facility on campus to the practice fields this week and attacked each drill with his customary gusto. On the first day of practice, he shouted encouragement to his offensive teammates from the sideline and talked trash to the defense loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear.
“Right now I’m backed up a little bit on play so it’s for me,” Pacheco said when asked where his joy originates. “I got to let that energy out, so that’s what I’m going to do when I’m on the field.”
Indeed, being back on the practice field is where Pacheco finds happiness. While his teammates were running through a 7-on-7 period, Pacheco was on the opposite field tackling agility drills with one of the assistant coaches. He pushed through each rep with the same energy he brought last season when he pledged “to take another grown man’s job.”
“It’s the work, you know what I’m saying?” Pacheco explained. “This is where you get the most out of it. Ain’t nothing better than the camp when you’re with your guys and you’re pushing each other day in and day out to get better.”
That attitude should help Pacheco when it comes to achieving his primary personal goal for 2023. The former Rutgers star averaged 4.9 yards per carry as a rookie and finished the regular season with 830 yards on the ground. It’s no surprise that his goal for his second campaign is the milestone that eluded him a year ago.
“For me, run for 1,000 yards,” Pacheco said. “That’s the goal obviously but it starts here today, practice day by day.”
