In case you missed it, the Kansas City Chiefs place Jamaal Charles on injured reserve, as he continued to struggle to comeback from a 2015 week five ACL tear. A current owner of Spencer Ware, I couldn’t have been more happier, but even as I celebrate with a bottle of Zima and a bucket of Cheesy Puffs, I also realize this is a sad day.
Charles has been one of the best fantasy running backs our league has ever seen and even if he does return in 2017, he’s never going to be the same player.
THE BEGINNING WAS SLOW
Back in 2008, the Kansas City Chiefs were riding high through the Larry Johnson era. He being the guy who in 2005-2006 rushed for 3,539 yards, starting in just 25 games. Yet, in 2007, he only averaged 3.5 yards and missed the season’s final eight games. Maybe the team saw the writing on the wall, because they drafted Charles in the third round of the 2008 draft. Yet, no one really thought much of tiny guy from the Texas Longhorns. He’s was undersized (5’11, under 200 lbs) and never had the look of a feature back.
That season, Charles went undrafted, even by Rich Calderon, who had picked Larry Johnson in the first round. Charles would go on to split the backup role with Koby Smith and even started a couple games when Larry Johnson missed four due to injury. Yet, while Smith failed to average even three yards per carry, Charles was solid. Rob Masterson at one point picked him up in week ten, but he never sniffed the starting lineup. By season’s end, Charles finished with 629 total yards, 357 of them via the rush, averaging a solid 5.3 yards per carry.
In 2009, Larry Johnson was back as the Chiefs’ starter, but he was become a risky pick due to suspension and off-the-field issues. Charles continued to share the backup role with Kolby Smith, making a living as the third-down back. Colby Hall took Johnson late in the third round, but he never reached for a handcuff. In the third pick in the last round, Griff Coomer snagged Jamaal Charles.
For seven weeks, Johnson was the lead back in Kansas City, despite struggling, averaging only 2.9 yards per carry, failing to score a touchdown. Yet, the running back decided to call his head coach a fag on this new social media platform called Twitter. Johnson was gone, shipped off to the Bengals where he career would go to die.
At this point, Griff still had Charles sitting on his bench, yet the Chiefs weren’t ready to let him handle the full load, as he platooned with Smith. Yet, but season’s end, it was clear who the better back was and come playoff time, Griff had Charles in his starting lineup. Earning the 3-seed, Griff took care of business in the quarterfinals against Rob Masterson, thanks in part to a 368-point effort from the second year back. In the semi-finals, Charles again delivered with 346 points and Griff just about all of it in his upset over 2-seed Bob, 1,622-1,534. Could a Chiefs’ RB handcuff lead Griff to the promise land for the second time in four years?
No. Griff actually benched Charles for another handcuff, Jerome Harrison. Even though Charles had a fine game, rushing for 100 yards on Griff’s bench, Harrison scored 278. It wasn’t enough though, as Coomer fell to Matt Neatock in the title game.
Yet, if there still was any doubt whether Charles could be a starting back in this league, the Chiefs’ back erased it with a 259-yard rushing effort to end the NFL regular season. At least, that’s what we thought.
Despite rushing for 1,120 yards on only 190 carries (averaging 5.9 yards per rush), in 2010, Kansas City still brought in veteran Thomas Jones and declared him the opening day starter. This probably should have scared off Griff Coomer, but it didn’t, as he kept Charles in round 15, while Jones was picked by Matt Neatock in round nine.
The decision by Griff proved to be a bright one. Even though Thomas Jones started ten of the 16 games and caught the majority of the carries (245), Charles dominated. While Thomas rushed for 896 yards (3.7 YPC), Charles 1,467 yards rushing, averaging a stunning 6.4 YPC. With his reception yards, he finished with 1,935 yards (and eight scores). Charles would finish the regular season fourth among all backs, earning second-team All-Robio, which was stunning since he only started six games.
Behind Jamaal Charles and Arian Foster (the top back that season), a back Griff didn’t draft until round 10, The Griffters managed to win nine games. However, in the quarterfinals, Charles and the rest of Griff’s roster failed to show. The Chiefs’ back had his worst outing of the season, rushing for only 40 yards, scoring just 76 fantasy points, as Griff lost to 4-seed and eventual champ, Bob, 1,793-690.
MY 2010 RECAP
This keeper is embarrassing good. Heading into 2011, Griff will walk into the draft with Arian Foster in the 10th and Charles in the 15th? Can you guess who the preseason favorite will be?
In 2011 season, Griff Coomer was the clear favorite. He was walking into the season with two of the top four backs from the previous season and neither was being kept in the first nine rounds. He again got Charles in round 15, although this would be the final year.
Yet, tragedy struck quickly. In just the second carry in his second game, Jamaal Charles would tear an ACL and just like that, he was gone for the year. He finished the season with just 85 yards rushing. Griff would survive, despite never filling the Charles-sized hole. He won nine games, earned the 4-seed, before bowing out in the quarterfinals to Colby.
MY 2011 RECAP
Wow, what a huge disappointment. A 15-round keeper ready for his breakout season, ready to led Griff back to the promise land. He didn’t even get through two games before, tearing his ACL. While Griff survived the season, winning nine games, he never really was able to fill the void left by Charles. Just imagine what he could have done with a 1,400-yard back in his backfield.
TIME TO DOMINATE
Heading into the 2012 season, people were unsure of what to do with Jamaal Charles. He was young, but coming off an ACL injury. With Thomas Jones gone, the starting job was his, but the team did bring in Peyton Hillis, just two years removed from a 1,000-yard season and a Madden cover. Colby Hall ended up taking the risk, snagging the Chiefs’ back with the 10th overall pick.
Charles proved to be a inconsistent mess, as the team couldn’t quite figure out his role. In week two, he had just three yards on six carries. This performance cost Colby not on that week, but the next. I could explain how, but let me just take you back to my Tuesday Thoughts from that week.
Take it away, commissioner…
What the hell happened, Colby? Do the Pounders not have a smartphone that can be checked at around 12:30? In what had to be the worst lineup change in league history, Colby sat Jamaal Charles earlier in the week, inserting Kevin Smith back into his starting lineup. But around 12:30, CBS announced that Mikel Leshoure would get the start over Kevin Smith. Not only did Smith not start, he didn’t even get a single carry during the game. Meanwhile, Charles had a career day, producing a 288 total yards and 558 fantasy points. Since Colby lost by 390 points, he would have won quite easily if he had Charles in. I’m still not dropping him despite the 0-3 start, but he can expect a freefall if the Pounders fall to 0-4.
So yeah, Colby benched a 558-point performance for zero points. Worst. Benching. Ever. Anyhow, Charles would continue to prove to be a inconsistent mess, so in week seven, the Quarter Pounders sent their first round pick, along with Philip Rivers and Hakeem Nicks to Richard Burrier for Drew Brees and wide receiver Titus Young.
Brees performed well for Colby, but in the regular season’s final two weeks, he was awful. Colby lost both games, finished 4-9 and missed the playoffs. Meanwhile, Charles performed well down the stretch for Rich and helped led him back to the post-season.
In the playoffs, Charles and his 354 fantasy points helped Rich pull off a massive upset, as the 8-seeded Burrier upset 1-seed Griff, 1,150-1,084. Charles’s points made up 30% of Rich’s winning total. In the semifinals though, Charles disappeared. He finished with just 10 yards rushing, 32 total fantasy points, as Burrier lost to Eric 1,163-667. Yet, after a brilliant second half of the season, Charles proved he was among the elites, rushing for 1,509 yards, although his lack of touchdowns (six on the year) kept him off a All-Robio teams.
MY 2012 RECAP
Throughout the season, Charles put up some of the best games of the season (including 558 points in week three), but there were too many times the Chiefs seemed to forget he even existed (sort of like how Colby forgets his kids during fantasy season). Anyhow, Colby ended up shipping Charles off to Burrier (to help land Drew Brees). The RB ended up paying off for Rich, averaging 207 PPG from weeks ten through the quarterfinals, before doing nothing in the semis (scoring just 32 points in a Burrier loss).
The followon season, Rich could have kept Charles in round one, but with Frank Gore sitting in the fourth round, Burrier sent Charles back to the 2013 draft. With Jeff Greenblatt picking first, there was no doubt, who would be the first pick overall. The no-brainer decision paid off. Despite his rushing totals being down (1,287 on the year), he caught 70 balls for 693 yards, finishing with a career high 1,980 total yards and 19 touchdowns.
Charles would earn his first ever first-team All-Robio award. He also led Jeff to a 6-7 season and back to the post-season as the 8-seed, a place Jeff failed to visit the previous three seasons. However, despite a stud-like 394-point effort in the quarterfinals by Charles, it wasn’t enough, as Jeff fell to the top-seed, Robio.
MY 2013 RECAP
The first running back to be drafted first overall and then finish the season as the top back since Ladainian Tomlinson way back in 2003.
Jeff Greenblatt was picking fifth in the 2014 draft. Seemed a bit early for a keeper, especially with Le’Veon Bell (who was not yet the greatest back in football) sitting in the fourth round, but Jeff wanted the sure thing and kept Charles in round one.
Yet, despite averaging 5.0 yards per carry, Charles’s touches were down, thanks to missing one game and Knile Davis stealing carries. He finished the year with 1,033 yards rushing, another 291 receiving and 14 touchdowns. He ended the regular season ninth among all backs.
It wouldn’t be enough. Jeff would go on to struggle, winning just three games (3-10) on the year.
MY 2014 RECAP
No doubt Jeff should have kept Bell over Charles (he could have kept Bell in round four) and at first it looked like a terrible decision as Charles averaged just 164 in the season’s first six weeks. However, Stella got his groove back averaging 292 PPG after the bye-week. He wasn’t as good as Bell, but at least Charles proved his worth down the stretch, even if he didn’t pay off for Jeff
BALL GAME
With the second overall pick, there was no way Jeff Greenblatt was keeping Jamaal Charles in the 2015 draft, especially with Adrian Peterson also being available, yet Jeff kept him for his final season, thus Charles became the highest kept player ever.
The decision certainly didn’t look bad. Through four games, the Chiefs’ running back had 457 total yards and five scores and was the league’s top back in fantasy. Yet, after 78 yards on just 13 touches in week five, Charles did it again, tearing his ACL. Season done.
Jeff would end up piecing together a decent running game behind Jonathan Stewart and eventually Charcandrick West (via trade) and finish the year 6-7 and back into the post-season. He would eventually fall in the quarterfinals to 2-seed and eventual champ Griff.
MY 2015 RECAP
He was a strange keeper, considering Jeff had the second overall pick in the draft, but he certainly was worth it early. Through four weeks, Charles was averaging a stunning 288.5 points per game, before tearing his ACL in week five ending his season). Jeff eventually got his handcuff in a trade with Colby, but by then, West was struggling to stay healthy himself.
Heading into 2016, Robio Murray, that’s me, was picking second. I wanted Ezekiel Elliot, but I knew I had no shot. I flirted with a variety of players like A.J. Green and Rob Gronkowski, but in the end, I felt like Charles could rebound like he did in 2012. I was wrong…by a mile.
He played no games in the preseason and wasn’t ready to play once the regular season started. He did finally return in week four and I started him, but that was a mistake, as he carried the ball just two times for seven yards. The writing was now on the wall. He would sneak into three games total and finish the year with just 12 carries for 40 yards and one score, before the team sent him back to the surgeon and onto the IR.
CAREER, IN A NUTSHELL
Listen, there is a good chance Charles plays again. He’ll only be 30 years old at the beginning of next season. Best case scenario, he’s a veteran backup for another team.
However, if he doesn’t play another game, I have to believe he’ll fall short of a Hall-of-Fame career. He has rushed for 7,260 yards. That puts him 59th all-time. He finished his career in Robioland with two All-Robio awards. A second-team award in 2010 and a first-team award in 2013, twice breaking 1,900 total yards in a season.
The problem is, we just didn’t see enough of Charles. He only officially started a full-season three times (2012-14), although he had two 1,000-yard seasons as a part-timer in both 2009-10.
As a fantasy starter, he led only four teams to a playoff (remember, twice he failed to finish the season). He typically had one big game and one awful game in the post-season and despite all the good he did, he never led a team to a championship. In fact, the only time he was in a title game was in his first year as a fantasy starter back in 2009, but after two brilliant games in the post-season, he was benched for the title game.
Anyhow, thanks Jamaal Charles. We’ll miss ya.
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