5 Things to Know About Kansas City Chiefs Isiah Pacheco

By  Lissete Lanuza Sáenz

KANSAS CITY, MO - JANUARY 21: Isiah Pacheco #10 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates against the Jacksonville Jaguars at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 21, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

KANSAS CITY, MO - JANUARY 21: Isiah Pacheco #10 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates against the Jacksonville Jaguars at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 21, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco is heading to Super Bowl LIX. The game, which will be played Sunday, February 9th, will see Pacheco, of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, face off against the Philadelphia Eagles. But who exactly is Isiah Pacheco? Because he’s more than the guy Taylor Swift is occasionally throwing 10s at during games and the running back who won his first Super Bowl during this rookie season and then another for Super Bowl LVIII.

Here are five facts about the star running back from Vineland, New Jersey, to get to know him better as he makes his third run at winning the Super Bowl.

1

Adversity Fueling His Play

Pacheco is only 24, but he’s had to endure a lot of tragedy in his young life. His brother, Travoise Cannon, was murdered in 2016. After that devastating loss, he and his sister Celeste Cannon grew even closer. Then, a year later, his sister was also murdered. 

“I play football for them,” Pacheco said to NJ Advance Media back in 2019, when he was still playing at Rutgers University. He also sports tattoos that honor both his siblings. Adversity and loss fuel his play.

2

Nickname

Pacheco’s nickname of “Pop” comes from when he was a kid, and it ironically can be traced back to exactly that sound. Or, as Pacheco himself once told it, “The way I remember it was when I was playing midget (Pop Warner) league and I was on defense. I popped the quarterback, put him down, and then the ambulance came. Fortunately, he was OK. But everybody told me they heard an echo from the ‘pop’ and (the nickname) just stuck from high school all the way to here.’’

3

Almost Didn’t Get Drafted

Pacheco was the 251st pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. To put that into perspective, there were 262 picks in the draft that year, meaning he was one of the last players picked in total. 

Most of the starters are picked in the first two or three rounds. Pacheco was picked in the seventh. And yet he became a starter in his first NFL season, made it to the Super Bowl with his team, won it, and is now back to try again in his second year.

4

Loves to Dance

Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl runs have included Pacheco dancing. And Pacheco will probably be dancing even more if the Chiefs win their third back-to-back Super Bowl because, as he said in 2023, “I’m from Jersey! We love dancing in Jersey.”

5

His Numbers

Pacheco’s numbers in his first three seasons in the league are nothing to scoff at, particularly considering he had to fight for the position as the starting running back during his first season and that he was injured for most of the 2024 season. He’s amassed 458 attempts for 2,075 yards and 13 TDs. And oh, yes, a Super Bowl ring during Super Bowl LVII and LVIII. Soon, we might have three.

His career postseason numbers, meanwhile, look even better. Seven games. 118 attempts. 510 yards. And to that we can add four touchdowns.

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