The doctor is not wrong. Pacheco\u2019s production has declined drastically since his standout 2023 campaign with the Kansas City Chiefs. He rushed for 935 yards and seven touchdowns that season.<\/p>\n
Injuries derailed his 2024 campaign, while in 2025, he managed just 118 carries for 462 yards and one touchdown.<\/p>\n
Other than his rookie season, Pacheco has yet to appear in all 17 games in a season.<\/p>\n
Preparing for a comeback this season, the former Chief has been laser-focused on learning the Lions\u2019 playbook and finding ways to make an impact wherever needed. In addition to that, he has also promised not to make the same mistake twice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey got their own culture here, and I love being a part of it so far since I got here,\u201d Pacheco told reporters on day one of minicamp, per Sports Illustrated. \u201cIt\u2019s the grit. You got guys willing to compete every single time we get a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sky-high expectations surround the former Super Bowl winner, but can he live up to them?<\/p>\n
What does Isiah Pacheco bring to the Detroit Lions?<\/p>\n
The Lions might not ask Pacheco to completely replace David Montgomery. However, they may want him to enhance the ground game alongside Jahmyr Gibbs.<\/p>\n
In his seven years in the NFL, Montgomery has never gone below 700 rushing yards and has crossed the 1,000-yard mark twice. While Pacheco brings promise, Montgomery remains a class above.<\/p>\n
Still, Pacheco\u2019s hard-nosed running style, relentless energy, and reliable pass-blocking ability make him a natural fit for Drew Petzing\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n
NFL insider Justin Carter wrote that Isiah Pacheco is poised for a strong season and could even exceed expectations if he remains healthy throughout the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cA healthy Pacheco can be that guy. Montgomery had 158 carries last season, so there should be plenty of available touches for Pacheco, and I think it\u2019s safe to say this Lions coaching staff knows how to maximize its running backs better than the Chiefs did,\u201d wrote Fansided\u2019s Justin Carter.<\/a><\/p>\n On top of that, the Lions value his Super Bowl experience, which could prove invaluable as they continue their long pursuit of breaking through that barrier.<\/p>\n Do you think Isiah Pacheco will have a successful 2026 campaign?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The doctor is not wrong. Pacheco\u2019s production has declined drastically since his standout 2023 campaign with the Kansas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":810871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,593,85],"class_list":["post-810870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=810870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/810871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=810870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=810870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=810870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}