A lot can happen in a year. Just ask Kansas City Chiefs rookie running back, Isiah Pacheco. A year ago, Pacheco was accepting an invite to the NFL combine after another standout season at Rutgers University in his home state of New Jersey. On Sunday, February 12, Pacheco will be in Arizona, playing in Super Bowl LVII.
Born in Vineland, New Jersey, Pacheco’s background has Puerto Rican heritage on his father’s side, as confirmed by NFL reps. Pacheco worked hard and endured tragedy in his childhood, as both of his siblings were killed when he was still in high school. These losses took place within a two-year span and have helped inspire Pacheco’s rise. In fact, he told the Press of Atlantic City right before attending Rutgers University on a football scholarship, “I don’t want to be one of those kids who says, ‘I could have done this, or I wish I would have done that better.”
Look at him now.
On a Kansas City Chiefs team loaded with stars and talent like Patrick Mahomes, Pacheco’s rise to NFL stardom has been even more surprising. It’s not that he was never loaded with talent, but going from seventh-round draft pick out of Rutgers to the starting running back for a Super Bowl-bound team in less than a year is certainly a monumental rise. His former head coach at Rutgers told the New York Post that Pacheco’s work ethic and determination have led him here.
“I don’t think anybody could have predicted that he’d be this successful this quickly, but I told everybody [scouts] who came to Rutgers to see him, ‘He’s the hardest practice player I’ve ever coached. I’m just so happy for him and his family. He’s worked for every bit of it. He’s overcome a lot. He had a rough upbringing. Lot of love, but a lot of trauma there, too.”
Those who admire his work, note that he runs with the passion of someone who knows loss but also knows success. His running has even been described as someone who is angry with the ground. And his strength and physicality are not lost on anyone, especially his team’s quarterback, superstar Patrick Mahomes.
“He’s so physically gifted. It’s hard for defenses to account for how physical he runs,” Mahomes said to reporters after the playoff win over the Jaguars. And even fullback Michael Burton, also a Rutgers alumnus, recently told Rutger Wire’s Kristian Dyer, “I think it’s because of the work ethic he has plus his talent, you mesh those two things and you get such a great product, and that’s what he’s doing right now.”
Ultimately, Pacheco’s story is truly an inspirational one.
It is rare that a player that went 251st in the NFL draft actually sees the Super Bowl stage as an RB1 in his rookie season. For Pacheco, winning a Super Bowl in his first NFL season would be the ending one would expect in a Hollywood film. And with Super Bowl LVII taking place on February 12, that glory is so close to being in his grasp.