I’ve heard a lot of grumbling about whether or not Jamaal Charles is really a stud fantasy RB in 2010 because he now must compete with Thomas Jones for touches. Heck, I’ve even wondered about it myself.
This morning, I’m here to tell you to stop the grumbling.
First of all, consider that Charles was already a stud last year and he only had 190 carries. It’s what he did with those 190 carries that matters, and Charles certainly made the most of them, finishing the season with 1,120 yards (a sterling 5.9 yard average) and 7 TDs. He also – importantly – tacked on 40 receptions for an additional 297 yards and another TD.
So that’s 1,400+ total yards and 8 TDs. By way of comparison, DeAngelo Williams had about 1,375 total yards and 7 TDs last year with almost 3o more carries.
And remember, Charles didn’t even start getting consistent touches until Week 10. Before that game against Oakland, Charles had not carried the ball more than six times in a single game. From Week 10 on, he never carried it less than 14 times and finished the season with 20, 25, 24, and 25 carries in consecutive weeks. That, of course, is when he exploded.
If you take Charles’ Week 10-17 performance and extrapolate it over an entire season, you’d get 1,936 yards on 322 carries…which is just ridiculous production. But that’s how good Charles was during the season’s second half last year. No one really expects Charles to get that many touches, especially with Jones in the picture, but he certainly will remain a featured part of the Chiefs’ offense…
Follow the link to go to the brand spanking new MSF Fantasy Sports site to read the read the rest of this post, including why the presence of Thomas Jones might actually increase Jamaal Charles’ value, and to comment or ask questions.
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