The Kansas City Chiefs are back at it as OTAs have begun. With several familiar faces joining the newcomers to the roster, players are out to make a name for themselves as we move closer to training camp, and one returning player on the offense is already turning heads.

A fractured fibula stopped Isiah Pacheco’s 2024 season in its tracks before it ever had a chance to get going. Pacheco went down during Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals and did not return until Week 12. Naturally, Pacheco was not his normal self after that period, but returned and gave the team his all despite being less than 100% healthy.

With a full offseason behind him, Pacheco has arrived at OTAs this spring as a man on a mission, and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has taken notice. During Reid’s time with the media on Thursday, he singled out Pacheco for the obvious work he put into his body since the team’s appearance in the Super Bowl.

Isiah Pacheco Gets Some Love From Andy Reid

With Pacheco set to be atop Kansas City’s depth chart at the running back position, making this type of impression on Reid this early into the offseason program is quite telling. After appearing in only seven games last season and rushing for 310 yards on 83 carries, Pacheco is ready to show the Chiefs and the rest of the NFL that he is the same dynamic playmaker out of the backfield that fans have grown accustomed to seeing since entering the league.

Given the way Pacheco rose to the top of the depth chart after being one of the final selections of the 2022 NFL Draft, overcoming adversity is nothing new to him. The former Rutgers University standout has earned everything he has achieved during his NFL career, and fans shouldn’t expect that to change moving forward.

Pacheco will keep bringing that same mindset to the field this season, and that should be all the motivation he needs to bounce back in a big way from the injury that cut his 2024 campaign short.