Chiefs Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook: Are Isiah Pacheco and Xavier Worthy Good Starting Options in Tough Matchup?
Looking over the Chiefs as they prepare for their season opener against the Chargers on Friday night.
The NFL regular season continues with a Friday night battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers.
Let's go over the fantasy outlooks for each team, beginning with the Chiefs.
Having trouble deciding who to start in week 1? Let the FantasySP start/sit tool help you make a decision.
Patrick Mahomes Fantasy Outlook
Mahomes is looking for a bit of a bounceback season as a fantasy asset. His team was great, but Mahomes underperformed in 2024.
He has a tougher matchup against the Chargers, at least based on last year's fantasy numbers. Last year against LA, Mahomes had 210 passing yards, a score and no interceptions in one game, while throwing for 245 yards, a score and a pick in the other. He added 29 rushing yards on nine combined carries in the two games.
In 16 games overall, Mahomes threw for 3,928 yards, 26 scores and 11 interceptions. He had 307 rushing yards and two scores on 58 attempts.
He's projected for 22 fantasy points this week, which is tied for the fourth-most points at the position. I have him as QB8.
I'm not as high on Mahomes to start the season as others are, but he's always capable of going off. I think with some of the pass catchers being unavailable that KC will lean more on the ground game, and that will hurt Mahomes' overall numbers a bit.
He's still a good starting option in all leagues, but I might like him a bit more the deeper a league gets.
Running Back Fantasy Outlook
At running back, Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt figure to lead the backfield. They have a very stiff test against the Chargers' defense in the opener.
Pacheco is coming off an injury-riddled season, getting in just seven regular season games last year. He had just 389 total yards and a score on 95 touches.
Hunt was brought in when Pacheco got injured, and he ended up playing in 13 regular season games. He posted 904 total yards and seven scores over 223 total touches.
Pacheco got in a game against LA last year. He had 55 rushing yards on 14 carries and six receiving yards on two grabs and four targets.
Hunt played in both division games. He rushed for 16 yards on five attempts and caught a 13-yard pass in one game, then tallied 69 rushing yards on 14 carries and added 16 receiving yards on two receptions and three targets in the other.
Pacheco is projected for 12 PPR fantasy points in week 1. Hunt is at just six PPR points.
Pacheco is my No. 24 back in my week 1 rankings. Hunt didn't make my top 30.
I think both will be involved offensively, but in the tough matchup, I don't love either guy as a fantasy asset. I do believe Pacheco will lead the way, but if Hunt gets the red zone touches, he could end up being the better fantasy performer if he scores.
They are both better deep-league starters in week 1. If the matchup were better, I'd be more excited about them, but a bit of a split backfield and a tough matchup are making them just so-so assets for week 1.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook
With Rashee Rice suspended and Jalen Royals out with an injury, the Chiefs' wideout options are kind of limited.
Xavier Worthy and Marquise Brown are the KC wideouts who made the FSP projection page. Worthy is set for 13 PPR points, while Brown is at nine. Worthy is my No. 18 fantasy wideout for week 1 - nobody else from KC made the top 30.
JuJu Smith-Schuster should start with Rice and Royals unavailable. Nikko Remigio, Tyquan Thornton and Jason Brownlee will be the secondary options.
Worthy had 742 total yards and nine scores over 79 touches in 17 games as a rookie last year. He went for 41 receiving yards on five catches and seven targets in one game against LA, then tallied 73 yards and a score on five grabs and seven targets in the other.
I like him to lead the wideout room in the early going, and that makes him a good starting option in all leagues. He'd rank even higher if he didn't have to deal with the team's tight end too.
It's a pretty average fantasy matchup for the wideouts, so that puts Brown and Smith-Schuster on the fantasy radar too.
Brown barely played in the regular season after sustaining an early-season injury last year. He didn't play against the Chargers.
Smith-Schuster had 231 yards and two scores on 18 catches and 26 targets in 14 games last season. He had 31 yards on two catches and targets in one game against LA, then not even a target in the other.
Brown is the better fantasy asset than Smith-Schuster, but I only see each guy as a deep-league starting option. Brown is more of a flex guy, and Smith-Schuster should only be starting in super deep leagues.
Tight End Fantasy Outlook
Travis Kelce is, of course, the tight end I was referencing before.
He's projected for 13 PPR fantasy points, which is the fourth most at the position for week 1. I'm not quite as high on him, ranking him sixth for week 1.
Kelce had 823 receiving yards and three scores over 97 catches and 133 targets last season in 16 games. He went for 45 yards on five catches and six targets in one game against LA last season - Kelce had 89 yards on seven receptions and nine targets in the other.
It's another tough matchup from a fantasy perspective, and that's why I have Kelce a bit lower. I expect the LA defense to prioritize taking him away, over a guy like Worthy.
I still could see Kelce going off in this one, and if he scores, he has a chance to lead the position in week 1. He's a starter in all formats.
Kicker Fantasy Outlook
Harrison Butker is the team's kicker. He's projected for seven fantasy points.
He was 21-of-25 on his field goals last season over 13 games. Butker made 29 of his 31 extra points.
Butker appeared in one of the games against LA. He made one field goal and missed another. Butker was 2-for-2 on his extra point tries.
He's a solid option in a game that could feature plenty of scoring, but maybe more field goal tries than usual.
Defense/Special Teams Fantasy Outlook
The Chiefs' D/ST has a pretty tough test against the Chargers' offense. The unit is projected for seven fantasy points as well this week.
The KC defense should be at full strength for this one, so that's working in the fantasy asset's favor.
In the first game against the Chargers last year, Kansas City won 17-10. Los Angeles had 224 total yards of offense, no turnovers and was sacked twice.
In game two, the Chiefs won 19-17. The Chargers had 288 total yards in that contest. LA didn't turn the ball over and was sacked three times.
KC's defense shut down LA's offense pretty well a season ago, but I'd say the Chargers' offense has improved since then. I still like starting the Chiefs' D/ST, and they'll be a pretty good option most of the season.
I see a solid fantasy floor for the unit tonight, just maybe not a super high ceiling if the Chargers take care of the ball, like they did last year. KC's D/ST is a fine starting option in all fantasy formats, especially as leagues get deeper.
