According to Ian Rapoport, the Chiefs are shaking up their backfield and moving seventh-round RB Isiah Pacheco into the starting lineup in Week 7 ahead of former first-round RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Kansas City rotates their backs quite a bit anyway, so Rapoport points out Edwards-Helaire will still have a significant role. This is a definite promotion for the rookie, however, who has flashed in limited action.
Rapoport adds Pacheco has impressed Kansas City in pass protection especially, and he’s been a more efficient runner than Edwards-Helaire despite having half the carries.
He also mentions veteran RB Jerick McKinnon will likely move down to Pacheco’s former place in the pecking order for now.
Pacheco, 22, was a three-year starter at Rutgers and an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection as a senior. He was selected with the No. 251 pick in the seventh round by the Chiefs in the 2022 NFL Draft.
He signed a four-year rookie contract worth $3,739,108 that included a signing bonus of $79,108.
In 2022, Pacheco has appeared in six games for the Chiefs and rushed 31 times for 149 yards and a touchdown while adding two receptions for nine yards.
Edwards-Helaire, 23, is a former first-round pick of the Chiefs back in 2020 out of LSU. He’s in the third year of his four-year, $10,821,572 rookie contract that included a $5,430,234 signing bonus.
The contract includes a fifth-year option for the Chiefs to pick up for the 2024 season.
In 2022, Edwards-Helaire has appeared in six games for the Chiefs and rushed for 256 yards on 59 carries (4.3 YPC) and two touchdowns, adding 16 receptions on 18 targets for 137 yards and three more touchdowns.
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