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Preseason Hype: Is Chris Rodriguez the Hidden Gem of the 2023 RB Class?

Just about every season it seems there is one running back, picked in the later rounds, who takes the league by surprise and outperforms more hyped players who were drafted several rounds earlier. Some names from recent draft classes that come to mind are Tyler Allgeier, Elijah Mitchell, James Robinson and Phillip Lindsay.

In 2022, Eric Bieniemy’s Kansas City Chiefs selected hard-charging RB Isiah Pacheco with the 251st pick as the seventh round of the draft was winding down. Through the course of the season, Pacheco overtook 2020 first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire as the Chiefs’ lead back.