Every year, a ridiculous Jamaal Charles stat makes headlines. And every year, we’re reminded he’s one of the most criminally underrated players in league history.
Sunday after predictable-pregame Sunday, a hosts asks if X Player is the best rusher in the NFL. A talking head rattles off the same list of usual suspects: Adrian Peterson, LeSean McCoy, Marshawn Lynch, DeMarco Murray, etc. Sometimes Charles’ name is mentioned; other times, it isn’t.
Let’s give that a hint of context: Lynch’s career high in single-season yards per carry (five) is Charles’ career low.
That’s not saying Seattle’s bruiser isn’t one of the best rushers in the league. It’s saying that when it comes to dread-rocking beasts, Charles is the Predator.
The fact that Lynch has only averaged five yards per carry in one of his eight 1,000-yard seasons speaks to how absurd the feat is. And yet, Charles has conquered it on five separate occasions.
Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith writes:
"Here’s the entire list of running backs in NFL history who have had five seasons with 1,000 yards and an average of 5.0 yards a carry or more: Jim Brown and Barry Sanders. And now Jamaal Charles.Running backs can rarely maintain a high average while carrying a big enough workload to get 1,000 yards, so the 1,000-yard, 5.0-per-carry season is more rare than most fans might think. Other than Charles, no active player has done it more than twice. Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton did it once each."
Here’s some more food for thought: Charles is the only running back in NFL history to log 1,000 rushing yards, 5.6 yards per carry and 40 receptions in multiple seasons.
Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com.