5 Fantasy Football Implications Stemming From Tuesday's Crazy Injury News
Jamaal Charles is Frightening But Still Worth the Risk
Lost in the madness in Minnesota was additional concern around another high-end draft pick in Jamaal Charles.
Chiefs continue their wait for Jamaal Charles and Tamba Hali https://t.co/3EfUWjfAZ1
— Stephania Bell (@Stephania_ESPN) August 31, 2016
Ruh roh. Considering that Charles has now been practicing for two weeks, this seems a bit disheartening. Is it time to completely abandon ship?
Not necessarily, and the thinking behind that is summed up well in this tweet by ESPN's Leo Howell.
Don't forget what happened the last time Jamaal Charles started the season off slow. pic.twitter.com/FxQp24jTyo
— Leo Howell (@LeoHowell8) August 31, 2016
Even when Charles was at his peak in fantasy, he wasn't doing it based on absurd volume. He's one of the most efficient backs in recent history, and he can feast without getting all of the team's carries.
The other aspect of Charles is that -- even if he's working alongside Spencer Ware -- Charles is going to see the passing-game usage. Ware was targeted a whopping six times last year, and that's not going to suddenly spike with Charles back in the fold. This gives Charles a floor as a fantasy asset where even the worst case scenario allots him a good amount of usage in high-leverage situations.
Charles' current ADP is the 17th overall pick, according to Fantasy Football Calculator. That's likely going to slide in the coming days. If you can get Charles at the front end of the third round, that's a value you really shouldn't pass up even with the recent bad news.
