Knile Davis is starting to show signs of figuring out how to run the ball in the NFL. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Backup Running Back: The Chiefs may have a very good problem on their hands. The job backing up Jamaal Charles is cloudy, but it’s because both Knile Davis and Charcandrick West are looking pretty darn good so far. Now, the numbers weren’t great this past week, but that’s why we don’t stop at box scores.
Knile Davis has been a guy that has excited me at some times and frustrated me at others. As a kick returner, I think he’s among the best in the league. But as a running back, there are some major issues. The first of which is his vision. Davis doesn’t shown good vision in tight spaces. He misses a lot of holes. However, against the Seahawks, I saw him pick out holes when they were there. Of course, we all saw that the holes really weren’t there on the right side, but Davis made due and overall I liked what I saw. Maybe he’s finally getting it…maybe he’s feeling the heat coming from the guy currently behind him on the depth chart. Either way, he ran better this week, even if the stat sheet doesn’t show it.
Charcandrick West is showing that he might have what it takes to back up Jamaal Charles for the Chiefs. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Charcandrick West is just impressing me so far. Granted, he’s working against backups, but it’s the way that he runs that I like. He finds holes and shows no hesitation. He runs hard, falls forward, initiates contact, and makes defenders work for their tackles. That’s the kind of running you want to see in a backup. However, West simply does not have the same physical qualities that Knile Davis has. Davis is faster and stronger, which gives him an edge in the competition. But West has shown this preseason that he is not someone to be discounted. In a straight comparison, he has easily outperformed Davis thus far (though as I mentioned, against the backups). I doubt that it’s enough to cause a depth chart shake up, but it should be enough to get the Chiefs thinking about him for the future.
There were some questions when the Chiefs released backup and special teams ace Cyrus Gray, but so far that doesn’t appear to be anything to be concerned with. Davis and West appear able to carry the load behind Jamaal Charles, and the special teams has looked great so far in the preseason (Tyler Lockett was really shut down). So Kansas City should be feeling really good about their running back situation heading into the 2015 season.
Next: Who do we have at TE besides Travis Kelce?