Return of Jamaal Charles gives Kansas City Chiefs incredible backfield mix
With Jamaal Charles back and healthy, the Kansas City Chiefs now have a more talented mix at the RB position than ever before.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ 2015 season appeared to be doomed when star running back Jamaal Charles went down with a torn ACL in their fifth game of the year, a loss to the Chicago Bears. The Chiefs lost their first game without Charles the next week against the Minnesota to go 1-5 on the season.
However, the Chiefs’ combination of speed back Charcandrick West and power back Spencer Ware were able to help right the ship, as the Chiefs won their last 10 games of the regular season, and even a Wild Card round victory over the Houston Texans in the post-season.
Obviously, having Charles around would have been ideal, but the Chiefs’ lightning and thunder combination of West and Ware really helped them in their successful portion of the season.
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The Chiefs re-signed both West and Ware this off season, and it will be interesting to see how much they are used with Charles expected to be back healthy.
Make no mistake about it, Charles will come in as the starter. The 29-year-old Charles is one of the most productive backs in the history of the franchise. Using his breakaway speed, fantastic ball carrier vision and elite-level receiving skills out of the backfield, Charles has been one of the best running backs in the NFL of this era.
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That being said, he is now coming off of his second torn ACL and he is about to hit the age where running back careers go to die. I am not saying Charles should lose his starting spot or anything like that, but with two capable backs behind him, they do not need to work him as hard as they used to.
If nothing else, the Chiefs should use Ware as a power compliment to Charles to help ease the grind on his body. West was good too, but it was Ware who really shined for the Chiefs down the stretch as the primary running back.
Using his impressive power and some underrated speed and quickness, Ware was able to produce on a high-level for the Chiefs down the stretch last season. He totaled 403 yards and six touchdowns on only 72 carries for an impressive 5.6 yards per carry average.
Combining the tough and physical running style of Ware along with the speed and elusiveness of Charles would give the Chiefs an improved version of their backfield mix they had last season. West was a strong player for them, but his skill-set is similar to Charles. I imagine that he will only get a big role in 2016 if Charles goes down for an injury again.
That being said, he is certainly a nice guy to have off of the bench, knowing that he is there to be productive if needed.
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Charles is still the star, but the Chiefs are in a great position to take some of the load off of him in 2016. Can Charles and Ware become an elite-level speed and power combination in the backfield? Andy Reid should at least give them an opportunity to find out.