Isiah Pacheco, running back for the Kansas City Chiefs, carrying the ball against the Detroit Lions on October 12, 2025.
The Kansas City Chiefs may be on the lookout for some additional talent as they come back from their dismal 0-2 start to be just one game out from AFC West leaders, the Denver Broncos, but it is also not implausible that they could look to discard pieces of value that serve little to no functional purpose to the team moving forward.
One position group where they could think to do this, and trim down what has become a very crowded room, is at running back.
Isiah Pacheco started as the lead back for the team, and has maintained that position for the duration of the season, with the sole exception of week 4's game against the Baltimore Ravens, where he saw only 37% of offensive snaps as the team laid out Lamar Jackson's team.
But Pacheco does not feel like the same kind of angry, aggressive runner he once was earlier in his career.
Although his metrics have not decreased dramatically since 2023, and are actually up slightly on his 2024 performance, it feels like the momentum is starting to shift away from him and towards veteran back, Kareem Hunt, or seventh round rookie, Brashard Smith.
So in this trade proposal, the Chiefs trade away Pacheco, whose contract is up at the end of the season, to the Washington Commanders.
Fans and media alike have been begging head coach, Andy Reid and co. to let Smith get more touches of the ball and see more time on offense, and in the meantime Kareem Hunt provides very similar efficiency to Pacheco in the run game - 4 yards/carry vs 4.2 yards/carry.
The team also have Elijah Mitchell; who missed the entirety of the 2024 season with a hamstring injury, but has been very productive earlier in his career, including a 963 yard rushing season in his rookie year for the San Francisco 49ers; and has yet to see the field this season on offense.
It is not clear exactly what Pacheco's value is. On the one hand he is a starting running back in the NFL, who has played by no means terribly in 2025.
On the other, he is out of contract in March, and his next contract is very up in the air.
To make the matters worse, he recently suffered an MCL injury, that should keep him out for the next couple of games as he remains "week-to-week" with the injury.