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Kansas City Chiefs: What Role Will Knile Davis Play In 2015

By Mike Norris

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The narrative around the Kansas City Chiefs organization is that Knile Davis is good enough to be a starting running back in the National Football League.

As long as he shares a backfield with Jamaal Charles, however, he won’t play that role. While there isn’t anyone who thinks he should replace Charles, there are those who think Davis should be playing more often.

His numbers over his two-year career (705 rushing yards, 222 receiving yards, and 11 touchdowns), are underwhelming on the surface, but nearly all of it has come as a backup not getting regular reps.

His 3.5 yards per carry don’t bode well either, but under all the obvious numbers, Davis has actually performed well playing behind Charles. In games where he carried the ball at least 10 times last year, his average was up to 4.08.

He had back-to-back, 100-yard games in weeks three (against Miami) and four (on Monday night against the Patriots) in 2014, and found the end zone six times despite carrying the ball just 134 times.

He has been serviceable — in fact, more than serviceable. His performances over the century mark came in a game that Charles did not play, and one where he was easing his way back from injury. It inflates his ability a bit, but save for a Charles’ injury, Davis’ role won’t increase much this year.

What Chiefs’ fans can do is thank the football gods for Charles, and realize the 1-2 punch in the Kansas City backfield is better than most.

It doesn’t help that head coach Andy Reid loves to pass (if you didn’t know that already, this must be your first Chiefs’ article). His carries nearly doubled from his rookie season to last year (70 to 134), but that was more due to the fact he had a year under his belt, and Charles missed a few games.

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Davis has played a similar role to Michael Turner. The five-year starting running back for the Atlanta Falcons served as LaDainian Tomlinson‘s backup from 2004-07 with the San Diego Chargers.

During his four-year career, Turner averaged 5.5 yards per carry in limited action. In Atlanta, the total yards were there for Turner, but it was due to more carriers. His yards per attempt dropped by 1.2, and he fumbled once every 94 carries as opposed to once every 114 in San Diego.

In other words, some success as a backup doesn’t guarantee it as a starter.

Knile Davis is a great insurance policy behind the Pro Bowler Charles. Anything outside of what he has done the past two years should not be expected though. What Chiefs’ fans can do is thank the football gods for Charles, and realize the 1-2 punch in the Kansas City backfield is better than most.

Next: The Biggest Need In 2015 Draft

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