After watching the Chiefs wrap up one the best 1st days of the NFL Draft in franchise history, many Chiefs fans were ready to keep the momentum going headlong into the 3rd round of the draft. The Chiefs had three picks in that round, and many felt that they could use 1 or more on continuing their upgrade along the offensive line, which was generally accepted as the most important task at hand for the Chiefs this off-season.

There were many talented players available when the Chiefs were placed on the clock in the 3rd round for the 1st of their three picks, but the last one that the fans, the pundits shouting their views on ESPN and the NFL Network, and even your’s truly thought the Chiefs would take was RB Jamaal Charles. While Charles was thought of as one of the better prospects available at the running back position in this draft, the Chiefs seemed to be set at that spot, and given their needs in other key positions, it wasn’t likely that they would use their 1st pick in round three to take a player like Charles.

We were all wrong.

In years past, the Chiefs would have gone with a more safer route through the draft, preferring to draft players at positions of need and ignore their draft value for the most part. While that’s not always a bad move to make when you’re solid football team in need of a player or two to get over the hill and into a deep playoff run, it rarely works for teams like the Chiefs that are in the midst of a complete overhaul. This strategy has also led to much wailing and gnashing of teeth in many a Chiefs fan’s home (myself included) and created the current mess the Chiefs are in right now with their complete lack of youth and talent along their offensive line.

But this year was different for the Chiefs. They were aggressive right from the start, fielding offers from interested teams looking to move up into the Chiefs #5 overall pick in the 1st round but quickly declining those offers in favor of drafting DT Glenn Dorsey. The team also traded up 2 slots with the Detroit Lions from #17 overall to #15 overall by giving up a 5th round pick they acquired in the Trent Green deal a year ago, and snatched their top rated O-line player in Branden Albert.

So it should have come as no surprise when the Chiefs quickly turned in their pick in round three, and announced to the world that they were drafting Jamaal Charles, Running Back, Texas. This is a player that has cheetah-like speed to go along with exceptional hands and excellent vision, and while the Chiefs are already set with their starter at the RB position with Larry Johnson, getting a change of pace kind of running back in Charles will bring back an element the Chiefs have missed on offense since Priest Holmes was in his prime.

Charles does all of the little things that teams need to maintain a high level of success. He is not afraid to take on blocking assignments on third down passing plays, he is outstanding at finding holes in an opposing defense’s coverage to get crucial receptions and yards after the catch, and he has the breakaway speed to hit a home run every single time he touches the ball.

And I would suggest that you not let his lack of size in comparison to LJ fool you into thinking he’s not capable of doing some hard running up the middle. When I watched tape of a few games with him last season at Texas, the one thing I kept noticing was his ability to run downhill after picking out the hole in the defense. He doesn’t dance around the backfield a la Barry Sanders and then make people miss enough times to gain the yards he needs. He uses his excellent vision to find the hole and run straight through it at a break-neck pace. His strength is vastly underrated as well, as he is definitely capable of bouncing off of would be defenders en route to a big play, and he is easily capable of holding his own against bigger defenders when he stays in to block.

Will he become an every down running back in the NFL? Only time will tell.

But playing for a Chiefs team that is loaded already at the running back spot with several big, strong, bruising kind of backs can’t hurt his potential playing time either. The best comparison to the current situation at running back for the Chiefs would be the backfield in Jacksonville with Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew’s complimentary styles of running the ball. Taylor hits teams hard with his size and strength, and then Jones-Drew comes in to carve defenses up with his electric speed and agility. That is what a running back tandem of Larry Johnson and Jamaal Charles can bring to the table.

And that is most definitely a good thing for a team that is in desperate need of play makers.

If you’re like me and you need to see what Charles can do before making up your own mind, feel free to check his highlight reel out, courtesy of Rivals.com. Enjoy!

 

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