Week 9 – Jamaal Charles vs. New York Jets
Jamaal Charles was his usual RB1 self in week eight as the Chiefs routed St. Louis in the Battle of Missouri. Charles rushed for two touchdowns and accumulated 117 total yards. While the Jets have one of the best run defenses in the NFL, they are still a 1-7 team in the midst of a massive meltdown. In other words, have no fears about starting Charles. You probably didn't have any fears to begin with.
Week 8 – Jamaal Charles vs. St. Louis Rams
Dependable Jamaal Charles once again came through for fantasy owners last Sunday, rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown, playing a key role in Kansas City’s 23-20 win over AFC West rival San Diego. Charles has superstar upside this week against a Rams defense that is one of the worst in the NFL at stopping the run. He will be locked into lineups as an elite RB1.
Week 7 – Jamaal Charles at San Diego Chargers
After missing most of week two and all of week three with an injury, Jamaal Charles has returned to being his usual productive self. In Kansas City’s last two games, Charles has 192 total yards and three touchdowns. San Diego’s run defense has been steady for the most part and the Chargers have allowed just two touchdowns on the ground. But you don’t bench a player the caliber of Charles, who will be at least a mid-range RB1 on Sunday.
Week 5 – Jamaal Charles at San Francisco 49ers
We’re going to party like it’s 2013! Finally, Jamaal Charles looked like the player he did a season ago. In a week four win over New England, Charles rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown while also hauling in a pair of touchdown passes. He was a superstar RB1 all over again.
Can he keep the momentum going against a San Francisco defense yielding only 69.8 rushing yards per game? It won’t be easy, but Charles certainly shouldn’t be benched now that he’s regained his groove. Just realize Jamaal is more likely to be a mid-range RB1 than an elite one.
Week 4 – Jamaal Charles vs. New England Patriots
Through three weeks, Jamaal Charles has been one of the most disappointing players in fantasy football. He sat out week three, missed most of week two, and rushed for 19 yards in week one. Things have to get better for Charles at some point, right?
Well, if you are looking for silver linings, it looks like he will be able to play on Monday. Originally, his injury was expected to cost him multiple games and he may end up missing just one. Secondly, Kansas City’s passing game is going to have problems against New England. They will need to get their ground attack going. Heading into this week, the Patriots were 11th in the NFL in run defense, which is decent but not exceptional. It is not time to pull the RB1 plug on Jamaal just yet, but make sure you have a contingency on Monday Night in case Charles can't go.
Week 2 – Jamaal Charles at Denver Broncos
Remember when Kansas City head coach Andy Reid used to coach the Philadelphia Eagles and those distressing moments where he completely abandoned the running game despite having a top back in Brian Westbrook? Well, last Sunday in Kansas City it seemed like Reid had spent much of his time listening to Daryl Hall’s old song “I’m in a Philly Mood” because superstar Jamaal Charles was largely ignored in a 26-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans. How does Charles only get seven carries on a day where the Chiefs were missing top receiver Dwayne Bowe? Yes, Tennessee dominated time of possession, but that is disgraceful.
Denver allowed 54 rushing yards in their opening night victory over Indianapolis, but the Colts were playing from behind most of the evening and it is not that hard to stop Trent Richardson. Look for the Chiefs to do whatever they can to get Charles going in the wake of last week’s debacle. Their odds of pulling off an upset in the Mile High City hinge on Charles having a huge day. Jamaal should get back in the RB1 range.
Week 1 – Jamaal Charles vs. Tennessee Titans
When Jamaal Charles last faced the Titans, he rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown in a Kansas City victory. Charles is capable of duplicating or even exceeding that performance on Sunday. The Titans are working through a philosophy change on defense and the Chiefs will not have top receiver Dwayne Bowe, likely meaning a heavier workload for the already busy superstar. As usual, Charles is an elite RB1.
In 2013, Jamaal Charles made owners feel like pretty much every day was their birthday. In his sixth season, Charles set career highs with 19 touchdowns and 1,980 total yards. He also hauled in 70 receptions, by far the highest total in his excellent career. He brought out the big balloons at the right time as well, with five touchdowns and 215 total yards in week 15, which is playoff time in almost all fantasy leagues. What can this superstar do for an encore?
Fantasy Upside
Normally, when a team makes the playoffs as the Chiefs did but failed to make any noise when they got there, they look to make further improvements to take the final steps towards the Super Bowl. It was not all that long ago when the Atlanta Falcons were in a similar situation and made a big move to get Julio Jones to ease the burden on Roddy White after White caught 115 passes. However, the Chiefs made no major upgrades. They were hampered by limited salary cap space and their personnel on offense is largely the same. Maybe tight end Travis Kelce can stay healthy this time around and maybe rookie De’Anthony Thomas can provide a spark replacing Dexter McCluster, but in the end, Charles will be Mr. Everything for the Chiefs offense once again.
Fantasy Downside
Although Kansas City did not find any difference makers on offense to steal Jamaal’s thunder, his backup, Knile Davis, played well when given a chance. When Charles sat out the final game of the season to rest for the playoffs, Davis rushed for two touchdowns and 81 yards. While there’s no way Davis is going to turn the backfield into a committee situation, it’s only natural to expect he will spell Charles more this year. The Chiefs had a ton of turnover on their offensive line. Quarterback Alex Smith may be inclined to throw more this year after growing into the offense late in the season and in the playoffs. And Kansas City’s schedule will be much tougher this year. The AFC South and NFC East are gone, replaced by the AFC East and brutal NFC West. Plus, they play in a division with two playoff teams that upgraded on defense. Even Oakland, the worst of the AFC West, should also be better on that side of the ball after a number of acquisitions.
Bottom Line
It will be tough for Charles to match last year’s heroics for a variety of reasons. Career years are hard to duplicate. And it is only natural to be worried about the heavy workload catching up to him. Nevertheless, even when you factor in a slight drop on the stat line, it will not be enough for him to lose his rightful place at the top of the fantasy hierarchy. He remains the best of the best.
Pages
- « first
- ‹ previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
