{"id":39157,"date":"2025-03-03T09:02:34","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T09:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=39157"},"modified":"2025-03-03T09:02:34","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T09:02:34","slug":"%f0%9f%8f%88-must-do-move-chiefs-urged-to-draft-local-star-to-replace-isiah-pacheco-after-contract-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=39157","title":{"rendered":"\ud83c\udfc8 MUST-DO MOVE: Chiefs urged to draft local star to replace Isiah Pacheco after contract news"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_415,w_4722,h_2656\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/220\/01jnc8yyc6nrehckvbw4.jpg\" alt=\"Jan 26, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (10) against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">The Kansas City Chiefs made waves this weekend with the report that they\u00a0wouldn\u2019t offer a contract\u00a0extension to beloved running back Isiah Pacheco ahead of the 2025 season. That puts massive pressure on Pacheco during a contract year, though it also reveals a clear draft strategy for the team next month.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">General manager Brett Veach has always prepared for impending departures. He\u2019ll draft a theoretical replacement a year early, ensure that prospect proves themselves, then move on from the incumbent starter once it\u2019s safe to do so.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">It appears that the same is happening with Pacheco, and there\u2019s one obvious mid-round target that the Chiefs need to pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to prepare for Pacheco\u2019s increasingly inevitable departure.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">yes! I talked about Devin Neal a bit today on the show coming out Monday. Had had to load up the clip chamber. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5EpBpew3Fj\">https:\/\/t.co\/5EpBpew3Fj<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3vdL25zyYI\">pic.twitter.com\/3vdL25zyYI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Nate_Tice\/status\/1895569581802213427?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Chiefs Must Draft Kansas RB Devin Neal as Isiah Pacheco Replacement<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Kansas running back Devin Neal, who grew up in Lawrence roughly 45 minutes outside of Kansas City, is one of the rising stars of this young draft season. He\u2019s the all-time leading rusher in Jayhawks history, surpassing legends like Gale Sayers, and has the type of dual-threat skillset that should make him popular among teams.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">The Chiefs rely on versatile running backs. They\u2019ve used Pacheco and Jerrick McKinnon in tandom before and tried to find someone who could both effectively rush and catch passes in drafting Clyde Edwards-Helaire, but they\u2019ve yet to surround Patrick Mahomes with a game-changing back.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">We saw the Philadelphia Eagles rely on Saquon Barkley to win a Super Bowl, and now Kansas City needs to find a more reliable every-down back.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">New half. Same story. \ud83d\ude2e\u200d\ud83d\udca8<\/p>\n<p>Real Deal <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Dev_Neal23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Dev_Neal23<\/a> 75 yards to the house on the first play of the 2nd half <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GziTpzxCM1\">pic.twitter.com\/GziTpzxCM1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Kansas Football (@KU_Football) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KU_Football\/status\/1710774825927549413?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 7, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">As a four-year contributor at Kansas, Neal had 760 carries for 4,343 yards and 49 TDs, adding 711 yards and a pair of scores through the air. He has unique balance, reminding some of a faster Kareem Hunt. While his 4.58 40-yard dash time won\u2019t win him suitors, Neal showed enough on tape to prove that he\u2019s more than capable of handing a large workload.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Hunt didn\u2019t run a blazing 40-yard dash either and still became a productive player. Neal can do the same. His poor time might actually make it easier for the Chiefs to draft him, and selecting him in the fourth round would make a lot of sense based on this class.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">For all of the draft ties coming out and early speculation, bringing a local star home to Kansas City at a position of need would benefit the Chiefs now and in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kansas City Chiefs made waves this weekend with the report that they\u00a0wouldn\u2019t offer a contract\u00a0extension to beloved running back Isiah Pacheco ahead of the 2025 season&#8230;. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":39158,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - 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