Isiah “Pop” Pacheco (born March 2, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Nicknamed Pop and Pachinko Machine, he played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

and was drafted by the Chiefs in the seventh round of the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

. In his rookie season with the Chiefs, he won

Super Bowl LVII Super Bowl LVII is the upcoming championship game of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2022 NFL season. The game is scheduled to be played on February 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It will be the fourth Super B ...

. Pacheco quickly became a fan favorite in Kansas City and is widely regarded as one of the 2022 draft’s greatest values.

Early life

Pacheco was born in

Vineland, New Jersey Vineland is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 60,780. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 61,156 ...

to Felicia Cannon and his father Julio Pacheco. He is the youngest of five siblings and his father is of Puerto Rican descent. He started his football playing career at a very young age for the Vineland Blitz ( Pop Warner Football League) in

Cumberland County, New Jersey Cumberland County is a coastal county located on the Delaware Bay in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 154,152, making it the 16th-largest of the state's 21 counties. Its county seat is Bridg ...

. Pacheco attended

Vineland High School Vineland High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Vineland, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as part of the Vineland Public Schools. The now reunifie ...

, where he played both quarterback and running back. His senior year he helped the Fighting Clan win the Thanksgiving Day Classic against the rival

Millville Senior High School Millville Senior High School is a comprehensive community public high school located in Millville, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in eleventh grade and twelfth grade as part of the Millville Public Schools. ...

Thunderbolts.

College career

Pacheco was heavily recruited by

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

, and other football programs along the East Coast. He committed to Rutgers University on June 21, 2017. Pacheco saw consistent playing time in each of his four collegiate seasons. He finished his college career having amassed 563 rushing attempts for 2,442 yards (4.3 ypc) with 18 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 47 passes for 249 yards and one touchdown.

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

Pacheco was selected in the seventh round with the 251st overall pick of the

by the

2022

In his NFL debut in week 1 against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

, Pacheco scored his first career NFL rushing touchdown on a 3-yard run. He recorded his first career start in the Chiefs week 7 game against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. In a Week 11 matchup against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

, Pacheco rushed for a career-high 107 yards on 15 carries. Pacheco is the all-time leading season scrimmage yards leader for a rookie running back drafted in the seventh round. He finished the regular season with 830 rushing yards and 130 receiving yards (a total of 960 scrimmage yards), alongside 5 touchdowns on the ground. He returned 29 kickoffs for 597 yards. In his first professional season, Pacheco was the starting running back for the Chiefs in

. In the Super Bowl, Pacheco had 76 yards and a touchdown as the Chiefs defeated the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

38–35.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Pacheco has overcome tragedy as his brother Travoise Cannon was killed in January 2016 and his sister Celeste Cannon was murdered in September 2017. He has tattoos of his sister and brother in a mural on his right arm alongside other tattoos representing essential parts of his roots, including one representing New Jersey, Vineland South High School and Rutgers University.

References

External links

*
Kansas City Chiefs bio

Rutgers Scarlet Knights bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacheco, Isiah 1999 births American football running backs Kansas City Chiefs players Living people People from Vineland, New Jersey American sportspeople of Dominican Republic descent Players of American football from New Jersey Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players Sportspeople from Cumberland County, New Jersey Vineland High School alumni