Kansas City’s backfield hierarchy remains stable entering a crucial divisional matchup. Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco head into Week 15 with their roles clearly defined. Which Chiefs running back warrants fantasy football trust?
Kareem Hunt’s Fantasy Outlook
Hunt continues to serve as the lead back for Kansas City. While he’s never going to approach an 80% snap share while Pacheco is healthy, Hunt still led the team with around a 60% snap share for the second consecutive week.​
Last week, Hunt managed 12 carries for 30 yards and salvaged his day with a short touchdown against an elite Texans defense. The production wasn’t great, but it will never be as difficult as it was last week, which is a good sign.​
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Hunt has now seen opportunity counts of 16 and 13 in the two games since Pacheco returned. The veteran back remains the clear preferred in critical situations.​
The reality is Hunt has been the superior performer all season. His short-yardage role that defined his recent success appeared unchanged despite Pacheco’s presence. Kansas City trusts Hunt as the primary option when games matter most.​
Isiah Pacheco’s Fantasy Outlook
One big change last week was that Pacheco got the start, which was the routine the entire season before he went down. It appears the Chiefs wanted to go back to their early-season approach where Pacheco was the 1a and Hunt mixed in behind him.​
Unfortunately, Pacheco isn’t particularly good at football. Thus, when the offense couldn’t really get anything going, they went back to old reliable Hunt. Even with the starter designation and playing the first handful of snaps, Pacheco still played just one more snap than he did the previous week.​
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Pacheco recorded nine carries for 30 yards during Sunday’s loss to Houston. His workload ramped up slightly in his second game back from injury, but he was still limited to just nine touches after handling only five a week ago versus the Cowboys.​
At this point, it’s clear the team does not trust him as much as Hunt. Pacheco hasn’t done anything this season to warrant even being on fantasy rosters. He has exceeded 6.1 fantasy points just three times all season.​
Pacheco has two games with double digits with his highest being 12.8 points. He shouldn’t even be rostered, let alone started. The only explanation for his 67% Yahoo roster percentage is managers want to keep him rostered as a Hunt handcuff.​
Should You Start Hunt or Pacheco This Week?
Los Angeles presents a better matchup than last week, but still not great. The Chargers are more vulnerable against the run than the pass, but they are merely an average run defense, not a favorable matchup.​
This is a must-win game for the Chiefs at 7-7 as they fight to stay in playoff contention. Los Angeles enters at 9-5 and has won five of their last six games. The Chargers defeated Kansas City 27-21 in their Week 1 meeting in Brazil.​​
Hunt remains what he’s been most of the season, a touchdown-or-bust RB3. He’s probably going to get you 30-40 total yards and you hope he scores. The touchdown saved his fantasy day last week, and that’s likely what it will take again this Sunday.​
As for Pacheco, he’s been on the cut list for several weeks and belongs far, far away from fantasy rosters and lineups.
