Who Should I Start? Isiah Pacheco or RJ Harvey

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.

Saturday, October 4, 9:16 AM

Denver Broncos rookie running back RJ Harvey was able to earn a season-best 41% of snaps in Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals. However, this was due to replacing J.K. Dobbins for the majority of the 4th quarter in a blowout win. The rookie running back will look to carve out a role against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. While Harvey will increasingly develop confidence in the coaching staff and through his own experience on the field, it's likely that, barring an injury to Dobbins, he will continue to be a change-of-pace back in closer games. The explosive rookie is developing some standalone value as a flex starter. Still, Dobbins' strong performances might continue to hold him back from reaching his actual ceiling as a talented 2nd round pick. Harvey is considered a solid FLEX play and is currently RB34 in the latest RotoBaller Week 5 rankings.