Kansas City Chiefs: How Should Jamaal Charles be spelled?

Charles will be the number one option. That much should not be doubted. Even though he is coming off his second ACL injury in his career and will be set to turn 30, an age that is often seen as the beginning of the end for NFL running backs, Charles will still be Andy Reid’s biggest weapon, both in the running game and as the third down receiver out of the backfield.

Nonetheless, while he will still be the starter, his workload cannot be what it has been in years gone by. He can no longer handle 300 carries a season and will have to spelled at times throughout the year, but how should Andy Reid and his coaching staff go about this?

Usually as the number one back, spelling them on 3rd downs would be the way to go. But with Charles being such a dangerous weapon in passing game, if the Chiefs are facing 3rd and long, would you really want to see Charles on the sideline? West certainly has skills in this area. His route running is excellent, sharp in and out of his breaks, has soft hands and is elusive once he has the ball in those soft hands, but he does not have the same skill set as Charles. He is not as fast as the track star, while a willing and able blocker, is not as proficient at picking up blitzes and is certainly not as lethal in open space.

So while resting Charles in obvious passing situations is a possibility, it may be at the detriment of the team. Perhaps, then the best way to give Charles his much needed breaks is to utilize Ware and his more physical running style. Ware is certainly more inclined to be classed as a “thumper” type back. While he possesses a shiftiness that not many his strength and size can match, he is most definitely a downhill runner, ideal for chewing up clock if the Chiefs find themselves in winning positions.

At 228 pounds, Ware is much heavier than Charles, who comes in at less than 200 pounds. Moreover, at only 5-foot-10, Ware is stockily built, can take the big hits and is difficult to bring down. While Charles is certainly tough, he has a much slender frame, and in the aim of protecting their star running back, it would be in the Chiefs’ interest to give Ware carries, especially in closing out games.

While it will never be nice to see Charles on the sideline – that much is obvious when you have a player that is talented and dangerous as Charles – it will be necessary to prolong, not only his career, but his season. The Chiefs have aspirations of returning to the playoffs and winning another playoff game. To do that, Charles needs to be fit come January, not break down in November. How the Chiefs choose to do that, is another question however, but Ware could certainly be in line to carry the load, quite literally.