2013 Fantasy Outlook: Jamaal Charles

Information is constantly changing in the NFL and fantasy player values can change at any moment. Having updated, informative news can help you not just at your fantasy football draft but during the regular season. Feel free to glance at our recent articles to make sound decisions throughout the year.

To help you get ready for draft day you will notice articles for ADP advice, cheat sheets, mock drafts and projected stats for Jamaal Charles here. During the season, you can also find regular weekly ranking articles at this section as well.

Welcome to Jamaal Charles fantasy football outlook archive. At this section of Charles player page you will notice our past thoughts and advice for fantasy football.

Summer of 2012: Fantasy Projections

What a disappointment it was to lose Jamaal Charles in the second week of the season. While Charles will be returning from an ACL injury, by September he will have a full years’ recovery time, unlike Adrain Peterson and Rashard Mendenhall, who will likely start the year on the PUP list.

With the addition of Peyton Hillis and Cyrus Gray in the draft, you can bet the Chiefs will put Charles on a pitch count this year. With some running backs that might be a concern, but as long as Charles flashes his patience, vision and explosive element in the open field; he will still be a great fantasy back.

Target Charles as a late RB1 to early RB2 which should put him somewhere in the second to early third round of your draft.

	Rushing Stats			Receiving Stats
	Attempts	Yards	TD	Rec	Yards	TD
2012 Projected Stats	210	1,134	5	42	378	2

Summer of 2011: Fantasy Projections

Jamaal Charles took another step to becoming the fantasy star many hoped he would develop into after his breakout second half of the 2009 season. The Chiefs came into last season with the projected easiest schedule to run against and Charles totaled just under 1,500 yards rushing on only 230 carries, giving him a ridiculous 6.4 yard per carry average.

The only downside to Charles, thus far, is that he failed to score more than eight touchdowns on the season, but I believe he will improve that number in 2011. In the spring, I had Charles listed as the fourth running back our draft board, but I’ve moved him up with the expected holdout Chris Johnson is going to have in Tennessee.

Coming into the summer Charles ADP value on Mock Draft Central is listed as the 4th best runner to take for standard leagues and PPR leagues. At Fantasy Football Calculator, Charles chimes in again as the 4th best running back to select. With all the drama for Johnson with Tennessee I recommend you look to Charles as the third best runner in summer drafts.

Please Note: Some of you may notice that I have Charles projected stats ranked better than Adrian Peterson, but Charles is ranked third on our board. This is mainly because Charles has yet to prove he can score double digit touchdowns, and Thomas Jones presence could hurt Charles chances of reaching at least ten on the season.

8/2011 Update – With Adrian Peterson’s sudden loss of left tackle Bryant McKinnie, I have serious concerns about Peterson ability to be a consistent game breaker, and I’ve gone ahead and moved Charles to No.2 on our rankings for running backs. We still need to see Charles breakout for over double touchdowns (before he’s truly elite) but I believe that will happen this year.

	Rushing Stats			Receiving Stats
	Attempts	Yards	TD	Rec	Yards	TD
2011 Projected Stats	292	1,688	8	48	433	2

May 2011: Early Fantasy Outlook – Before Chris Johnson Holdout Rumors

Many were high on Jamaal Charles coming into last season after he broke-out in the second half of the 2009 season and played like a fantasy stud. For Charles to be a considered a true star, he needed to prove he could play at a top end level from week one throughout. Charles would go on to do just that has he totaled just under 2,000 total yards on the season and consistently made game changing plays week after week.

Now Charles has to take the final step to fantasy stardom as he will check in on many fantasy expert lists as the fourth best runner to select just outside of the super stars like Arian Foster, Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson in 2011 redraft leagues. I expect him to take the next step as Thomas Jones (will be 33 years old by September) is slowing down in his career and even Coach Todd Haley recently admitted it was time to up Charles work load on the field.

Coming into the season I have Foster and Johnson as the clear first two runners to select on draft day, but if something should happen to Jones in the preseason, I would actually rank Charles over Peterson. In my mind Charles has the ability to put the entire package of a high rushing total, over 500 yards receiving, double digit touchdowns and a high reception total all together in one season. I’m not sure Charles will ever reach over 12 touchdowns in a season but his skill set is too good to be ignored. As for Peterson, as gifted as he is, I’ve never seen him put that kind of season together but Foster and Johnson have.

2010 Preview

Jamaal Charles looked like a potential first round fantasy pick this year until Thomas Jones signed with the team. Look for Charles as a good No.2 tail back on your team but don’t expect him to blow up this year.

2010 Fantasy Football Outlook

2009 Fantasy Year In Review: Jamaal Charles turned into a fantasy stud late in the season after the team parted ways with Larry Johnson. In ten starts last year, Charles posted over 1,100 yards rushing and a 5.9 yard per carry average.

Charles also produced eight total touchdowns and 40 receptions in the passing game. These break out numbers carried fantasy owners to championships and have made Charles a hot name coming into the 2010 season.

Audio: RB Jamaal Charles | 2010 NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings

2010 NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings: Unfortunately for Charles, the Chiefs went out and acquired Thomas Jones in the offseason. Jones has scored at least fourteen touchdowns in each of the past two seasons, and he is a serious threat to Charles for red zone touches.

Beyond that, it is very likely that Charles will start out the season in a running back by committee (RBBC) with Jones as he only had 190 carries last season. Given the fact that Charles is 23 years old, it only makes sense for the Chiefs to slowly work him into being a true feature back.

Don’t be surprised if the Chiefs allow Charles to be the main runner as we get into the second half of the season but in the first half they should have him on a pitch count.

Other than that, Charles has amazing skills and his patience to wait for holes to break open before he hits the hole is a very encouraging sign for success. The fact that the Chiefs have the easiest schedule against the run won’t hurt Charles’s chances for success as well.

Assets

- Game Breaker

- Solid Hands

- Offense Is Getting Better

- Easiest Schedule To Run Against In NFL

Liabilities

- In A RBBC With Thomas Jones

- May Lose Goal Line Touchdown Opportunities

- Had Shoulder Surgery In Offseason