In St. Joseph, Missouri, the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0have reconvened for training camp with familiar intensity and a few unexpected talking points.<\/p>\n
After closing out the 2024\u00a0NFL\u00a0season with a 15-2 record, an AFC Championship victory over the\u00a0Buffalo Bills\u00a0and a runner\u2011up finish in\u00a0Super Bowl\u00a0LIX against the\u00a0Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City enters 2025 with championship aspirations firmly intact.<\/p>\n
Their defense, spearheaded by Pro Bowler Chris Jones and All-Pro Trent McDuffie,\u00a0ranked fourth in the league\u00a0last year in points allowed (326), helping offset an offense that at times struggled to produce explosive plays.<\/p>\n
Yet so far in camp, it\u2019s those big gains that have everyone\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the first full\u2011squad practice drew extra eyes, not only for\u00a0Patrick Mahomes\u2019 deep connection with second\u2011year receiver Xavier Worthy, but for the route-running ability of 26-year-old running back Isiah Pacheco.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t take long for fans to zero in on Pacheco\u2019s awkward execution of a basic flat route.<\/p>\n
\u201cPachecos route lmao,\u201d\u00a0said one user.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPacheco should not be out there running,\u201d\u00a0another fan commented.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPacheco has to work on his route running \ud83d\ude02,\u201d\u00a0another user replied.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBuddy\u2019s a bobble head,\u201d\u00a0said one other fan.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHe run routes like druski,\u201d\u00a0another commenter replied.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDudes got the sauce,\u201d\u00a0one other user responded.<\/em><\/p>\n A Vineland, New Jersey, native, Pacheco starred at\u00a0Rutgers\u00a0before the Chiefs selected him in the seventh round (251st overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n In 2023, he rushed 205 times for 935 yards (4.6\u00a0avg.) and seven touchdowns, adding 44 catches for 244 yards and two scores.<\/p>\n That year, he became the only running back in NFL history to win two Super Bowls in his first two seasons, with career totals of 2,075 rushing yards, 13 rushing touchdowns, 453 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns through the end of 2024.<\/p>\n Pacheco is playing on the final year of his four\u2011year, $3.74\u202fmillion rookie deal, which carries a fully guaranteed signing bonus of $79,108 and an average annual value of $934,777,\u00a0per Spotrac.<\/p>\n The Chiefs have yet to offer an extension, leaving Pacheco to prove his value in what could be a contract\u2011year audition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In St. Joseph, Missouri, the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0have reconvened for training camp with familiar intensity and a few unexpected talking points. After closing out the 2024\u00a0NFL\u00a0season with a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n