Fantasy Football Player Notes

Isiah Pacheco fractured fibula early last season and was back in roughly two and a half months. Upon his return, he wasn't the same player and was unable to reclaim the lead RB role from Kareem Hunt. But it's hard to imagine Pacheco was anything close to 100% after coming back from a broken leg in under three months. Pacheco was being drafted in the mid to late second round last year , and now you can get him in the seventh round in most drafts. In a backfield that includes Hunt, Elijah Mitchell and Brashard Smith, I still think Pacheco is the best lead-RB candidate the Chiefs have. Pacheco looks like a draft value.

Smith was another talented victim of this deep running back class. He dropped all the way to the seventh round of the NFL Draft, which was surprising. The Chiefs added him to their already overstocked backfield. The Chiefs are no strangers to allowing a seventh-round running back a legit shot at starting (hi, Isiah Pacheco), so we can't say that Smith has zero shot. I was enamored with Smith's receiving ability as a converted wide receiver, his lightning quickness, and his possible upside as a rusher for a player who is still getting acclimated to the position. Last year, Smith ranked 34th in breakaway percentage, second in receiving grade, and 22nd in yards per route run (per PFF). Smith's skill set is different from every other back in this depth chart. He could easily carve out a stand-alone role as Kansas City's new Jerick McKinnon.