Who Should I Start? Elijah Mitchell or Isiah Pacheco

Friday, September 5, 7:20 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Elijah Mitchell is a healthy inactive for the Week 1 regular-season opener on Friday night in Brazil against the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers, according to Nate Taylor of ESPN. It's bad news for Mitchell heading into his first year with the Chiefs, as it looks like he's the RB4 to open the year, behind starter Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt and rookie Brashard Smith. The 27-year-old was getting some first-team reps early in training camp, but that was a long time ago in late July. Mitchell signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with KC in the offseason after spending his first three NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. In his three years in the Bay Area, the former sixth-rounder in 2021 out of Louisiana averaged 4.7 yards per tote on 327 rush attempts for 1,523 yards and nine touchdowns (five in his rookie season).

Saturday, September 13, 4:45 AM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco will face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2. The defending Super Bowl champions defeated the Chiefs in their last matchup, and Pacheco only had seven rushing yards on three carries. The 26-year-old will have the chance to exact some revenge, but he must first overcome the timeshare he's in with Kareem Hunt. Pacheco and Hunt had the same number of opportunities in Week 1; both handled five carries and two catches on three targets. The former ultimately finished with more total yards, but it was not an impressive performance by either back. Pacheco did manage 5.0 yards per carry when given the opportunity, so maybe he can build on that efficiency with more usage. That said, the Eagles defense was one of the toughest in the league to run against last season, and that looks to be the case again this year. Pacheco will have his work cut out for him if he wants to carve out a larger role in the Kansas City backfield. Pacheco is ranked RB35 in our RotoBaller rankings this week, making him an RB3/Flex option. He'll be a tough player to trust this week.