Knile Davis: Should we be doubting him?
This may not come as a surprise to you, but Knile Davis is one of the most polarizing players on the Kansas City Chiefs roster. With Davis, there’s no middle ground: you either love him or hate him; or more likely, you have questions about whether or not he can live up to his potential. Davis is entering his third season and there are real concerns that he may already be approaching his ceiling. I might be alone in my assessment of him, but I happen to think he’s still ascending as a football player and needs time to continue to develop.
In the NFL, it’s easy to have high expectations of running backs early in their pro careers. I’m convinced it’s one of the easiest positions to transition into from the college game. Two-time Pro Bowler Alfred Morris is a former sixth-round draft pick with three, 1,000-yard seasons under his belt (in as many seasons). The former Florida Atlantic Owl has had one of the best starts to an NFL career, at his position, in recent memory.
Current starter Jamaal Charles had a breakout year in just his second NFL season. After posting only 357 yards in his rookie campaign, Charles followed that season up with 1,417 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns in 2009. Playing behind Charles might be the reason Davis has faced such harsh criticism. He’s the Jan Brady of Kansas City’s football family.
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One of the biggest areas of distinction between the two backs has been the yards-per-carry category. Since Davis was drafted in 2013, he’s averaged just 3.5 yards per rushing attempt. Compare that number with 5.0 yards per carry for Charles, over the same stretch, and avoiding criticism becomes next to impossible for Davis. Such a steep drop in productivity has kept the tandem from being the kind of 1-2 punch Chiefs Kingdom and perhaps the coaching staff had hoped for.
Charles is a polished runner who is adept at setting up his blocks and “getting skinny” through the initial wave of defenders. Davis is often indecisive and tends to rely a bit too heavily on his athleticism to evade would-be tacklers. That said, he’s only had 204 carries in the National Football League. That’s an average of a hair over 6 carries per game since joining the team. Might it be too soon to close the chapter on Davis?
Next: Where Davis currently stands...