Here's Why Chiefs Fans Shouldn't Worry About Isiah Pacheco Being at the Bottom of the Depth Chart

After grueling months without live football action, the Kansas City Chiefs are just a few days away from their preseason opener against the Chicago Bears on Saturday. Ahead of the clash, Kansas City released the first edition of its yearly depth chart, and there were some surprises.

Although just a late seventh-round draft pick, rookie running back Isiah Pacheco is listed all the way on the fourth team for ballcarriers. All for a player that's seen report after report of him "turning heads" in early training camp practices.

Diving deeper, there's very little for Chiefs fans to be concerned about at this first edition of the depth chart. Pacheco is here to stay, and here's why.

Chiefs Depth Chart

Pacheco is actually listed as a starter elsewhere, on top of the kick return game alongside Mecole Hardman, who holds the top spot in kick returns.

Isiah Pacheco Chiefs

Of the positions on a depth chart, the return game is a much safer indication of Day 1 starters compared to the playmaking positions like running back and wide receiver. That's a spot Pacheco can hold onto, should hold onto, and reports from the Chiefs' beat suggest he will.

That's all before about half the players on this depth chart lose their jobs when the active roster trims down to the 53-player maximum ahead of Week 1 of the regular season.

Kansas City currently has six players listed in the running back room, and that number won't last to Week 1. In fact, the Chiefs listed only three running backs on their active roster in Week 1 of the 2021 season. Ronald Jones and Derrick Gore are viewed as potential cut candidates, and that only propels Pacheco's name up the depth chart.

All of these playmakers will have an important opportunity to secure their roster spots in Saturday's preseason opener. Kansas City enters this clash +145 road underdogs, according to NFL odds on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.