Chiefs Pacheco & LRZ – Thunder and Lightning?

Chiefs Pacheco & LRZ – Thunder and Lightning?

Isaiah Pacho has been your Super Bowl Workhorse running back and a new guy from Wales adds a little bit of pop but what does this running back room bring to the 2024 Chiefs coming up today on lockon Chiefs from the land of the free and the home of the Chiefs this is the lockon Chiefs podcast welcome back everybody we’re talking about everyone’s favorite position the running backs today brought to you by game time check them out make sure you download the game time app create your account and use our code locked on NFL for $20 off of your first ticket purchase terms do apply we have a great show for you I want to talk about the position that seems to get everybody riled up first and foremost is always running backs despite what Andy Reid thinks of them we’re g to talk about a number of options here he’s Chris Clark from Chiefs Corner running down everything for you over there on his sub stack for all the business side that you want the quarterbacks Etc and I’m Ryan Tracy the founder of Rogue analytics and performance Consulting NFL 33.com as well as rgr foot.com here on YouTube uh where we’re celebrating our our sixth season coming up on that channel uh lot going on there we have been on this show for going on eight seasons we’re here for you every single day that’s the the gist here I’m the locked on podcast Network so like this video subscribe to this channel maybe even turn the Bell on so you get notifications because you’re going to get us five days a week plus and then some even get the uh everyday listeners that can go over to the text line if you want to get into that it’s 816 357 8781 check that out coming up what’s the depth situation what’s the one project at this position group what does our new friend uh Greece lightning from Wales bring to the room but we start with the guy who’s been there for this entire thing and that is Isaiah Pacho he has been your quarterback your quarterback of the running back room for the Super Bowl run he is the Workhorse despite an injury uh earlier in the first run came back again last season runs hard brings it every day he is the example of the intensity that you want at the position but he gets to the point where there’s a limit to his explosiveness there’s a limit to the big play ability in my opinion that they’re trying to supplement to give him um a 1B or a number of 1bs here and I think that’s important it has to be a committee he’s clearly the leader but he can have the impact Again by Leading this room and I think that’s his biggest attribute he needs to lead the room but he is going to need help and we’re going to be talking about depth and uh the xfactor here in a little bit but my main point when I say that is you look at the wear and tear that he’s had on his body and he’s had a couple surgeries now just coming you know coming in uh he needs to have a little bit of Health uh I do believe he is the borse don’t get me wrong I think that they’re going to use him and they may end up using him even more than they have in the past but they’re going to need to find times where they can give him a little bit of a rest uh they you know third down is something that his rookie season he didn’t play a ton of but now he’s seeing third Downs because he’s picked up the pass protection and that’s important uh for that and if you don’t get a guy like jet McKinnon back you have to wonder is Peko going to get more of those third down opportunities you do because he’s been supplemented on those downs and Jet McKinnon is still an option out there um had obviously a surgical issue uh in the pelvic region he had to come back from just to play at the end of last season we haven’t heard hid and or hair of him doesn’t mean that it’s out of the running maybe he’s enjoying his rest and recovery and the Chiefs have some plan later I would bet after or in training camp not before to bring McKinnon back into the fold and that is certainly an option that we’ll get to later but it is about just letting Pacho be peo we have to understand that despite what most people think of the running back position on this roster a rookie contract is a rookie contract and everything after that gets a little bit iffy for running backs I am of the mindset that I love what he does I love his fit I think he brings everything he needs to bring he just needs a little bit more home run mentality or or ability and you can supplement that with his backups but I think you got to use PCO to his most this particular season next season will likely be his last on the contract maybe last in a Chief’s uniform you’re getting to the end there but I would maximize Pacho this season well if they’re going to maximize him this season I mean you’re looking at a situation where he’s going to be your three down back and you have to make sure that you’re getting him more involved in the passing game than he was even last year uh you know like I said he was in there on third Downs he was mostly blocking when he was in there on third downs but they did throw him the ball a little bit and he did pretty well with it so if you’re going to maximize him you have to find more times to use him and not necessarily run on first down run on second down like Andy Reid has a tendency to do maybe you throw the ball to him out of the back field on first and second down change what he’s doing change the way that they have to defend him which gives him the ability to maximize his exposure and maximize all of his touches yeah it’s clearly the the way of the future to use him in every way possible I I think the screen game can now take another step forward a little bit as one of the side effects of this wide receiver core that we’re going to talk about uh coming up next week folks so make sure you tune in for the wide receiver talk because it affects this position as well by having all this speed and all this ability to stress safety levels it opens up the box and it keeps two highs I think in a higher percentage this season which allows the running game to be used to its maximum and PCO in particular even if it’s on short passes yeah and you have to wonder how many they’re going to have in the box if I mean if you have worthy out there and you have Rashid rice out there and you have Travis Kelce out there and you have Hollywood Brown out there how many are they going to keep in the Box to try to defend that uh because you have a lot of speed and I’m not saying Kelsey’s fast but when you look at the tight end position and what he generally does uh you he’s going to be opening up the middle of the field he’s is going to be challenging the deeper parts of the middle of the field uh generally speaking and Rishi rice is going to be doing the same thing so they’re all going to be going a little bit deeper is that going to make them get to a situation where they’re only going to have six seven people in the Box against peo that would be P’s dream come true that’d be in some ways Andy Reid’s dream come true because that gives him the ability to run the ball even more than he did last year and take some pressure off the passing offense which I think is still going to be effective but if you’re seeing six and seven man boxes because they’re afraid of your deep speed take advantage of it give it to your running back or take advantage of it and get it to your you know your wide receivers in a short position I know we’re talking running back but it it all kind of plays into it however you’re going to use your offense and use your pieces out there uh get the ball to them in space get it to them quick and uh take advantage of whatever the light boxes you get this year because I do think they’re going to see some with all the speed they have on the field yeah I expect the six-man box to be normal and you’re going to see some fives too because teams are going to have to come up with ways to defeat and augment what they’re doing to stop the passing game I think it’s it’s right for the taking but you still need that upside that that home run ability and one player in particular has started to make his way but is that option I think in terms of what the Chiefs have on the roster right now what’s lrz bringing to the table I think it’s a lot and it’s coming up right here after a word from our Palace passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance from superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and much much more whether you’re into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you’ll always find exactly what you’re looking for and with eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every single time or your money back because with eBay Motors you’re burning rubber not your cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want it’s easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply eBay guaranteed fit only available to us customers check out the lockon sports today feed for 247 covers that you don’t have to listen to ESPN or CBS or some talking head shouting at you we’re going to give you the inside experts on every team of all the major stories 247 any day that you want you will find it un locked on sports today here on YouTube or on Amazon Fire TV what else is on fire and that is Greece lightning uh one of the nicknames uh that Lou re zamit goes by lrz obviously the big popular one and I am one everyone knows is a proponent of the Run game as as a physicality Max something to bring another aspect to the game that puts pressure on the defense I I hesitant though to be very very excited about um generally rookies we had the Darwin Thompson uh experiment that never went anywhere right like we’ve seen some rookies not be able to make it the difference for me on on ree zamit is the fact that he’s yes a rookie in the NFL but he’s been a professional athlete he understands how to get prepared yes it’s a different sport and I’m not trying to say that it isn’t but I believe that while he has to learn the inside of the game running with the ball in his hand is a natural act for him and I do feel because of his speed once he adjusts his upright running style which he will definitely have to do I think he can provide that xfactor on top to or next to Isaiah Pacho that gives him a little bit of relief and a very different aspect for this offense yeah and it’s going to be intriguing to see how they use lrz on the offense because you look at what he brings to the the table you look at what he was able to do as a rugby player and he gives you all different types of options and and we’ve talked about it on the kickoff return talking about it when he’s a running back is is a different level because you hand the ball off to him is he going to be one of those guys that takes you know four or five steps and pitches it back to Patrick because that’s something that he’s used to doing on a regular basis it changes what she could be doing he might be running with the ball but it can always go back to Patrick if he’s if it’s a handoff so it changed the it changes his his experience it changes what the Chiefs are able to do and I would imagine they’re going to be a lot more comfortable with him doing something like that other than a guy like Peko who doesn’t who hasn’t had the experience of playing rugby then you look at the way he he runs and and his ability to you know his agility and all that and you talked about him having to learn how to get down a little bit and that’s something he’s going to have to figure out and I think he’s going to get a big Awakening uh when it comes to training camp because I think that’s he’s going to take his first hit but the big question is is how does he learn from it how does he bounce back and how does he adapt uh and I do think that that’s going to be something that we’re going to see a little bit of when he gets into the preseason games is his adaptation to fit into more of a running back role in the NFL so he’s not getting killed when he’s getting hit he’s going to have to adjust to that uh and that’s going to be something big that’s going to probably change his game a little bit but it’s not something that I don’t think he can adjust to no I completely agree with you and I think the really interesting wrinkle here is as we talked in the first period getting getting Isaiah Pacho involved more for me in particular looks like the the inside shovels that we’ve seen them do over the last few years that screams PCO to me if you’re talking about what Andy always quotes as a true extension of the running game being the short passing game that screams this kid’s Amit to me because especially coming in out of the slot if he had um a horizontal aspect to his game which I think will then feed into the verticality that we’ve seen him use in rugby he is usually the pitch recipient in rugby so I think that’s really what we want to look to emulate right to get him on an angle where he can take maybe a shallow angle even and turn it up and get loose he has the speed to beat linebackers all day long he’ll beat most safeties but it’s just about getting into the point where he can turn and go I don’t think he’s a weaver I don’t think that he is a you know a Jamal that’s going to make guys miss left and right he needs an angle and when he sees it he’s going to burst and that’s I think the Home Run aspect that I’m looking for yeah and I’m really curious to see how he does catching the ball when we get to training camp and we’re actually able to see it um I I understand he’s the guy that’s been getting the pitches and and that makes a ton of sense it’s a little different when you’re talking about catching a football because you’re catching it usually around your head or over your head whereas rugby you’re catching it generally in your body uh I’m not going to say it’s completely different but there is a little bit of an adaptation I think he’ll have to make there but you have to imagine that if he can make that adaptation and he can make it quickly you’re absolutely right those interior routes where you’re looking at you know Slants and and you know maybe a quick hook uh at times to do different things I mean it depends on down and distance and it depends on what they’re trying to do but there’s all different things that he’s going to be able to do uh with his quickness and his agility that’s going to be a lot of fun to watch um I’m just curious to see how much get him involved early on because while I do think that he makes the team as the major as one of the main uh kick returners how quickly are they going to get him involved in the offense because he’s coming from something where he’s never really played professional football are they going to take time to get him in or are they going to give him are they going to do what they did with and I hate saying it this way so please don’t take this as I’m comparing him to Tyreek Hill but are they going to take it to where he’s going to do something like what they did with Hill his his rookie year or what they would did with last year to an extent are they going to slowly get him involved in the offense and not make it something where he has to be in there and know most of the place I think that’s the way that it probably goes but it’s going to be intriguing to see how much he can pick up and how quickly yeah I think you’re definitely right I I think we talk about him and I we talked about him in this segment in particular because of his upside not the floor you’re right how you get him into the offense and how he becomes part of it I think is still a a work in progress and will be for most of the season and I’m not going to ask him to run you know 15 yard digs I’m not throwing go balls to him and I’m not asking him to go up over the middle at the crossbar it is a specific skill set I think will help him but it is that that grab plant and go mentality and experience that he has that is so intriguing but he’s not alone there are other options there are other guys behind them that are going to have to come together as a unit to form this running back room who are they who brings what to the table especially this time of year that’s coming up next here in the lockdown podcast Network it’s getting hot out there it is summertime and that means that it’s baseball NBA finals and hockey finals are done you can bet everything that you’re looking for baseballwise on through the football season right now at FanDuel right now at this moment they’re giving new customers $200 in bonus bets for winning a $5 bet super simple that’s 200 bucks back in bonus bets on anything and everything that you want to bet on any of this and you can get one hit to go out of the park you in business fanduel.com lockon you can go there and make a big win get your summer bucket list sorted out and get it accomplished at FanDuel America’s number one Sportsbook now potential and upside is one thing that’s what these two guys have but what’s behind them how do we create and how will we see the Chiefs create their running back room for the season names behind them Clyde Edwards Air a familiar face nerk Prince we’ve seen some uh K Ingram is now on the roster and then the rookies in Carson steel and ammani Bailey a lot of options there but nothing that screams they have to be on the field all the time I do feel like Claud Edwards Air is a reliable go-to in relief uh in case of injury Etc but I don’t see other than a handful of plays as he’s someone that I have to make sure I get snaps for every week do you disagree no I don’t disagree I think that it would be nice if they got him more involved in the passing game than they have in the past like I just don’t understand they put him in there and they run run the ball where if he was catching the ball out of the back field or or at least running routes he I mean that’s one of his best skill sets you take advantage of that uh you know that that would be a great time to get Pacho off the field at times is give Clyde a chance to catch the ball because he does do really well when you’re talking about catching the ball out of the back field but the Chiefs have never really used him in that aspect and I’m not exactly sure why yeah and we never have we’ve been asking for five years you know put that together all the way back to LSU where that was one of the best things that he did on the field I I think you can still call him maybe uh the primary backup in terms of like being able to know the offense and come in and do everything I’m really interested to see where that falls because beyond that I think it’s all a question mark um we talked about ree Zon I think he could end up by the end of the season being that third back that gets on the field and provides a little bit of explosiveness deric Prince I think still has potential but we didn’t see enough of it and and I actually thought that U perine outperformed him last year so with perine’s departure I was a little surprised by that but he and ke Ingram in particular I don’t see a whole lot of upside there do you I don’t think so but it’s hard to know without really seeing them actually in pads and taking the ball and and running I mean that’s really the big question and when you get a guy like daer Prince who came in and had a good camp early on last year and then seemed to basically kind of lose it towards the end you have to wonder if maybe another year in Camp and another year with the Chiefs is going to give him more confidence and be able to get him to where maybe he can be a guy that can contribute at least a little bit on this roster uh whether or not he makes the roster is a whole another question and that’s the big thing when we start looking at this is how many running backs are they going to keep you would think it’s going to be four uh they’ve done five in the past but this group it doesn’t have the depth that some of those other groups have had and you know other than a guy like Carson steel who would be basically like a fullback you would think that if he makes the team they would go five because they would likely keep regularly four runners on the team other than Carson steel but with other position battles that’s the big question and we’re going to get into wide receivers and all that later and we talked about offensive line to an extent already but that’s the big question how many running backs are you going to be able to keep yeah and how many force their way onto the roster well and that’s the thing is I look down the the list here I think re’s already done that with the Special Teams duties so he’s on the roster and that’s why I keep coming back to him as one of the top three in the end maybe not to start the season but by the end I do think that that’ll be true the guy that’s intriguing to me is Monte Bailey because I do think he has burst that he can turn on when he needs it but he’s got to show the ability to do that consistently and to avoid tackles because of his size I do think tackle forcing his tackles is going to be the biggest metric that you can follow to see if he has a chance to actually play in this league well and the big question when you get to lrc being the third guy is generally speaking the Chiefs have had three guys active and maybe sometimes a fullback in the past when they had one I don’t think you can have four guys active so if lrz is going to be on the field are they going to really want keep four because if you look at it they’re not going to be able to have four active on game day more than likely that’s generally just not how it’s going to work agreed and I think maybe not with Clyde Edward aair somebody might pick him up but with everybody else I think it’s very clearly a situation where you can get them on the practice squad and you can maintain your running back core half on the practice squad and do elevations when you need it based on specific usage that week and the big thing that we have to remember because we always get enamored you and I have done this to an extent but fans always get enamored also when you watch a running back going in in the third and fourth quarter in the preseason game and dominate that was deneric Prince last year if they’re going to have a guy that’s going to step in and be that third running back instead of lrz then they need to have him going up against the twos they need to have him maybe even get some carries with the ones just to see what he can give you at times it doesn’t have to be a full series it doesn’t have to be you know multip plays in a row it just has to be okay can he go out there and can he pick up a blitz uh do you trust him to do that is that something that you’re going to want him to do because that’s generally what a third running back is going to do is be a good PL pass blocker so it all falls down into what are you going to be able to get these guys to do and you have to make sure that you’re putting them in the in the best position but you also have to make sure that you’re getting them against legitimate competition if you want to see if they have something that’s available uh for the roster because you know generic Prince last year and there’s been guys in the past uh and I’m I’m blanking on some of the other guys in the past that have done it as well they go in there and have big games in the third and fourth quarter in the preseason and it doesn’t matter because the team already knows they’re not going to make the roster they may be better than the third and four stringers they’re playing against but that doesn’t mean they’re they’re good enough to play in the NFL on a regular basis and get snaps yep it is it is hard to measure so I I would say I not to to Discount anything else but first half performances in the preseason stack up to more meaning than anything else so keep that in mind as we get to that point who are you looking for to make an impact who’s your running back of choice behind Isaiah Pacho leave that down in the comments on YouTube or in the reviews on Spotify or apple music we appreciate you guys being with us every single day you every dayers are the heart and soul of the show because you guys are always here we appreciate you being on the text line as well at 816 357 8781 make sure you like and sub and hit this one this podcast is five days a week year round no matter what we might take a vacation or two but that’s about it and you’re going to get extra content once Camp opens so continue to get ready with us we’re gonna have a fun show tomorrow for you next week we’re going to start in on the wide receiver position that everyone wants to talk about as we run down options so make sure you’re with us and you are subscribed thanks for spending your time with us today we very much appreciate it check out everything else over at Chief’s corner at NFL 33 and at rgr football thanks for being with us today and we’ll check you back tomorrow talk to you then

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco continues to dominate the Chiefs backfield, but he needs support around him at the position. Louis Rees-Zammit will be a huge change of pace, but can he step into the NFL running back role in 2024?

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