Get ready for some new legs in Kansas City’s backfield.
Jamaal Charles was released by the Chiefs, saving the team over $6 million in salary cap space. The running back suffered a torn ACL in October 2015 and never regained his form. He spent much of this past season rehabbing his knee, only to undergo arthroscopic surgery last November and not play in the last two months of the regular season or in the playoffs.
Andy Reid’s current options to replace Charles include three traditional running backs -- Spencer Ware, Charcandrick West and C.J. Spiller -- and one non-traditional hybrid player -- Tyreek Hill.
Ware, the starter for 14 games in 2016, averaged 4.3 yards per rush and 97.7 total yards per game. That sounds nice, but he only had one game with over 100 rush yards and four games with over 100 total yards. He also totaled just five touchdowns. Fantasy owners enjoyed just four weeks with double-digit production in non-PPR formats.
It’s fun to think about Hill as the answer to the Chiefs’ backfield problem, but he’s already been ruled out. Reid said as much during the Pro Bowl, saying he doesn’t think Hill can hold up there, offering a lukewarm reaction to Hill’s pass-blocking abilities.
But Hill will pitch in. How could he not? He averaged over 10 yards per run and scored three times on 24 handoffs! Hill probably won’t transition to running back but he’ll continue to carry value as a receiver who notches some handoffs from week to week.
West was just as inconsistent as Ware, just without as many opportunities. He typically worked in a change-of-pace role behind Ware but started two games late in the year. He had 38 total yards in one of them and 116 total yards and two touchdown catches in the other.
Spiller has bounced around the NFL since falling out of favor in Buffalo -- the Chiefs will be his fourth team in three years. Since 2014, he’s caught four touchdowns, run for none and totaled less than 850 yards.
Maybe the Chiefs could go another season with that group working together in the backfield, but smart money is on the team addressing the position further this offseason. The draft is rich with fresh running back talent, and the Chiefs could make a splash and move up in the draft for Dalvin Cook or Leonard Fournette or stay put and find a runner with a top-100 pick.
Reid has been known for striking gold with running backs in the past, with Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy two very notable examples.
What about Charles, who was a Fantasy lineup staple for so many of us for so many years?
Given how personnel executives feel about running backs that are 30 years old, particularly in an offseason where there are so many younger alternatives, I wouldn’t expect a high-profile landing spot. But that doesn’t mean he won’t draw interest.
A lot of teams who believe they’re close to making a deep playoff run -- the Colts, Giants, Ravens, Eagles, Seahawks and perhaps the Raiders -- could bid for Charles to come in on a team-friendly deal. None will promise him a starting job and 20 touches per game, but almost all of them could present him with a chance to work in tandem with another back.
Charles, in a passing downs role, could still have some relevance in Fantasy. Could he catch 50 passes for 600 receiving yards and a handful of touchdowns? Certainly -- if he stays healthy.
And that’s the real issue with Charles. If he can’t stay healthy, he’ll be a waste on a Fantasy roster.
With the Fantasy running back pool getting an influx of talent in the draft and a handful of running backs moving into good situations this offseason, Charles shouldn’t be much of a priority.
If we’re talking about getting him close to 100th overall in a Fantasy draft, then there’s nothing to fear. But if we’re talking about Round 6 or 7 for a player who used to be great, then there’s some risk that just isn’t worth taking unless/until he looks like his old self.
That’s a view we may never see again.
