Isiah Pacheco is coming to the end of his third season with the Kansas City Chiefs (Image: Getty)
running back Isiah Pacheco suffered two unthinkable family tragedies before making it as a pro footballer.
The 25-year-old will hunt down his third victory against the Philadelphia Eagles tonight, with the Chiefs aiming for three wins in four years. His dreams came true when, in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft, he was selected by the Chiefs as the 251st overall pick.
Pacheco was picked up after enjoying a successful college football career with Rutgers Scarlet Knights. But prior to that, in a horrific two-year period, his family’s lives were turned upside down.
It started in January 2016 when Pacheco – the youngest of five siblings who grew up in New Jersey – lost his brother, Travoise Cannon. At 29 years old, Cannon was found stabbed to death at his apartment complex. The culprit claimed self-defence and pleaded guilty to hiding evidence, getting three years’ probation.
With the family still grieving in September 2017, Pacheco’s older sister, Celeste Cannon, was found murdered with a gunshot wound to the head. The culprit was handed a 65-year prison sentence.
In an interview during his Rutgers days, Pacheco shed light on his heartbreaking ordeal. “(My sister) was like a best friend,” he told . “My brother, if he was to see me here [at Rutgers], he’d be shocked. He encouraged me to play football as a kid and he never got the opportunity to see me play here.
Isiah Pacheco played his college football with Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Image: Getty)
“Having an opportunity to play ball, it helps me a lot not worrying about the tragedies that happened. It makes me want to go harder. Since I was a youngster, [my brother] was always out there, watching out for me. He was my mom’s first baby. I still think about my sister to this day. I miss her a lot. It’s very hard.”
Pacheco has grown into an NFL talent, finishing the 2024 regular season with 83 carries for 310 yards, as well as one touchdown. His former high school coach, Dan Russo, saw his potential from a mile away.
“When I took over the program, he was the guy that I had to get,” Russo explained. “Isiah was an eighth-grader and there were a bunch of schools going after him. Our program was down a little bit and he decided to try to fix it.
“That was kind of his mindset [he had] going to Rutgers, too. We had Ohio State in to see him, Notre Dame coaches came to recruit him, but he wanted to help his home-state team. He’s an extremely loyal kid.”