NFL
Isiah Pacheco Knows Tyreek Hill Used to Wear the No. 10 Chiefs Jersey but Doesn't Care
Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sports7 in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He's a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early '90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA. When he's not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.
Get to know Tim Crean betterUpdated08 Feb 2023
For years, one of the hallmarks of the Kansas City Chiefs offense was No. 10 flying down the field toward the end zone. From 2016 to 2021, that No. 10 was seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro Tyreek Hill. In 2022, and into Super Bowl 57, the player underneath the number has changed. It's now the Isiah Pacheco No. 10 jersey. However, the results on the field look stunningly similar.
Isiah Pacheco isn't worried about who wore No. 10 last for the Chiefs
Tyreek Hill went from a fifth-round pick in 2016 to one of the best playmakers in the league while wearing No. 10 in Kansas City.
During his six seasons with the Chiefs, Hill put up 479 catches for 6,630 yards, 93 carries for 719 yards, and 62 total touchdowns. When the Chiefs traded him last offseason, though, there was no reverence for the departed player from the equipment staff.
The No. 10 jersey immediately went to a seventh-round rookie running back out of Rutgers, Isiah Pacheco. And while giving a famed jersey number to seventh-round rookies doesn't usually amount to much, the former Scarlet Knight immediately started making his mark as the team's new No. 10.
Pacheco's first move as the Chiefs No. 10 was to acknowledge the shoes (or shirt) he was stepping into, but vowing to make it his own. When asked about his new jersey number in camp, Pacheco told reporters, “Definitely know who wore it. I don't feel any pressure,”
“I've worn this number before – my freshman year in college and did a great job with it,” Pacheco said, per FOX 4 KC. “It's not the number but the player, so I'm the guy that's wearing. I just got to go out there and execute wherever they need me at.”
And with that, the Isiah Pacheco No. 10 journey began, and it's going pretty well so far.
Pacheco has been a standout player for the Chiefs as a rookie
Right off the bat in training camp, Isiah Pacheco started turning heads. Most seventh-round rookies are bound for the practice squad, at best, but Pacheco was so good early on he actually sent veteran RB Ronald Jones II to the practice squad instead.
As the season started, Pacheco immediately proved he could have a Tyreek Hill-like effect on the game with his speed and tough running. In the Chiefs' Week 1 blowout of the Arizona Cardinals, the rookie RB had 12 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown.
In the next two games, Pacheco wasn't as involved in the offense, and the Chiefs struggled. They snuck by the Los Angeles Chargers by three in Week 2 and lost to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3. In Week 4, Pacheco got back on track with 11 carries for 63 yards, and so did the Chiefs with a 10-point win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This trend continued until Pacheco officially took over as the Chiefs starting running back from Clyde Edwards-Helaire in Week 7. From that point on, the Chiefs went 12-1 and are now in the Super Bowl.
If the Chiefs win the Super Bowl on Sunday, Pacheco will play a significant role in that. And Chiefs fans (who haven't already) will replace their Tyreek Hill jerseys with new Isiah Pacheco No. 10 shirts.
