Isiah Pacheco’s fantasy football managers have reason to keep a close eye on Kansas City this week. After sitting out the matchup against Buffalo, it seems his return might not be as soon as hoped. Andy Reid’s latest comments didn’t exactly inspire confidence, hinting that Pacheco’s recovery could take longer than expected.
Whatever this mystery setback is, it’s casting serious doubt over his Week 11 availability and fantasy reliability.
Isiah Pacheco Injury Update
Pacheco missed the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 9 matchup against the Buffalo Bills due to a knee injury. The initial hope was that the injury was minor and Pacheco would be able to return to the field after the team’s Week 10 bye.
Unfortunately, head coach Andy Reid stated that Pacheco will “need more time” during his Nov. 10 press conference following the bye. That suggests he is trending toward not playing in Week 11’s crucial divisional game against the Denver Broncos.
Kareem Hunt took on the lead role in Kansas City’s backfield with minor contributions from Brashard Smith and Clyde Edwards-Helaire in Week 9.
— PFSN Fantasy Football Analyst Dan Fornek
Pacheco Fantasy Outlook
A Week 8 MCL sprain cost Pacheco one game, but the well-timed bye has that seeming like the only action he’ll miss.
Of course, as far as fantasy managers are concerned, missed time was a blessing as it prevented the mistake of starting him.
In the four weeks prior to the DNP, Pacheco had one top 30 finish at the position, quite an accomplishment given the form of this offense as a whole. How does that happen?
Well, in those first eight weeks, he posted a 15.7% red zone touch share. Kareem Hunt is the clear top option, but Patrick Mahomes and Brashad Smith (both with a 14.3% share over that stretch) were effectively just as likely to touch the ball in valuable situations as Pacheco.
READ MORE: Soppe’s Week 11 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Analysis for Every Player in Every Game
A four-way split with Rashee Rice coming on fast?
That’s a tough pill to swallow, not to mention whispers surfacing last week that we could be looking at “split carries” between him and Smith, cutting into the small niche role that he had access to.
I thought Pacheco was running hard pre-injury and was trending in the right direction, but another injury introduces more risk than the previous profile had room for reward. We just saw Ashton Jeudy get hit within two yards of the line of scrimmage on 15 of 19 carries against these Broncos on Thursday night, making this a spot where you’re best off searching for any warm body over a less-than-full-strength Pacheco.
— PFSN Fantasy Football Analyst Kyle Soppe
