Kansas City Chiefs: Does Jamaal Charles belong in Hall of Fame?
By Casey Adkins
With Jamaal Charles retiring as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, it is time we ask the question that always happens when good to great players retire. That question is of course, “Is he destined for Canton?”
In most cases, this is pretty cut and dry but for running backs, isn’t it? Why you ask? I have one name for you to answer that very question, former Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis. Charles, who spent nine years with the Kansas City Chiefs, has similar stats to Davis.
Terrell Davis got into the Hall of Fame despite not having the stats and/or the longevity you typically see in running backs that have a bust in Canton, Ohio. This is what I like to call the “Terrell Davis Conundrum” or TDC for short.
What the Terrell Davis Conundrum is simply that if a running back like Davis gets in, then what is stopping other running backs that had similar careers from getting into the Hall of Fame? So for the sake of this exercise, we are going to be comparing the stats of the two players.
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All things being equal, I am only going to be using regular season stats because Charles only ever played in two playoff games and that is a team issue, not a player issue. Sorry Davis, those two rings you got because they rode your behind, aren’t going to count.
To start off, we are looking at total yards from scrimmage.
Why look at total yards rather than just rushing yards? This is because Davis and Charles were two different styles of running backs. Davis was your more “traditional” running back where all he did was carry the rock while Charles was your more modern running back where running routes and pass catching are part of the job now.
In terms of total yards, Charles edges out Davis by 1,269 yards (10,156 to 8,887). That’s not particularly close really especially when you factor that Charles did it on 107 fewer touches.
One thing I want to go ahead and get out of the way before we continue is the number of games that each player played in. Charles played in 39 more games than Davis did, not including playoffs.
A more accurate representation would be games started in which Davis started in eight more than Charles did (77-69). Charles started out as a backup in Kansas City, sitting behind Larry Johnson as a rookie and not taking over until Johnson was cut six games into the 2009 season while Davis was the starter from the word go. Even then, Charles wasn’t the “official” starter in 2010, as Thomas Jones started most games.
Next up, we are going to look at total touchdowns from scrimmage.
In the same vein as the total yards, we are looking at two different styles of players. Charles was required to catch the ball while Davis’ sole purpose was to rush. Davis actually edges out Charles in this category with 65 compared to 64 unless you include Charles’ lone kickoff return, in which they are tied. Also, we have to take a look at the fact that Charles had 107 fewer touches than Davis did.
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The final bit of this piece is going to be a random list of categories that don’t warrant their own discussion. For the sake of simplicity Jamaal Charles will be listed first and Davis second with the bold number being the most.
- Yards per Touch- 5.4-4.9
- Thousand Yard Seasons– 5-4
- Two-Thousand Yard Seasons– 0-1
- First Team All-Pro– 2-3
- Pro Bowls– 4-3
From an overall stats standpoint, Jamaal Charles is no doubt better than Terrell Davis, but there is a caveat that Charles is going to face just like his predecessor Priest Holmes is now. As Joe Posnanski of Sports on Earth states, the Pro Football Hall of Fame puts a ton of weight into postseason success.
Davis is without a doubt one of the best postseason performers of all-time and he carried the Broncos to two rings. Having a Hall of Fame quarterback who wasn’t terrible in those two seasons will do that for you.
Do I personally think Jamaal Charles is a Hall of Fame running back? Without a doubt, based on the above metrics, but sadly the voters are going to feel different.
It is a shame that one of the most exciting players in all of football won’t get his bust in Canton despite being very deserving of it. Were it not for Charles and his performance against the Broncos in 2009, I likely don’t get back into watching football.
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When watching Charles play, fans knew they were watching one of the greatest players on the field. Outside of maybe Marshall Faulk and Barry Sanders, there has never been a more dynamic running back to ever play on the gridiron.
Enjoy retirement Charles and thanks for the memories.