Who Should I Start? Isiah Pacheco or Kenneth Walker III

Wednesday, October 22, 11:37 AM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco has had an underwhelming season so far in 2025, recording 314 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns on 77 total touches through his first seven games. However, there may be reason to believe that the 26-year-old is trending upwards. Pacheco has at least 12 carries and 51 rushing yards in each of his last two games. Additionally, the Chiefs' offense is getting healthier and has averaged 31.5 points per game over the last four weeks, which means Pacheco should see more red zone opportunities going forward. Kansas City will likely continue to split backfield work between Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, and Brashard Smith, which limits Pacheco's upside. Still, Pacheco has been stealing early-down work away from Hunt in recent weeks and has a higher upside in both real life and fantasy. Pacheco could be a good buy-low candidate for fantasy managers and profiles as a low-end RB2 heading into a Week 8 matchup against the Washington Commanders.

Friday, October 17, 8:55 PM

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III is in for more of the same flex-level production in Week 7 against the Houston Texans. Walker continues to play in a timeshare with fellow running back Zach Charbonnet. He is running relatively well, but his passing game work has been nearly nonexistent. He has scored single-digit fantasy points in two straight weeks in tough matchups. The Texans are No. 5 against opposing running backs in fantasy. This is not a week that Walker should be expected to get back to his usual production. He is always a threat for a big play, but even those have come few and far between in 2025. As long as both of Seattle's running backs are healthy, Walker will remain in the flex conversation. His RB2 upside does not even seem very achievable at this point. You can start Walker this week, but expect a low ceiling and a potentially single-digit floor.