Does former Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles belong in Canton among the NFL’s greatest players? He certainly thinks so.
In an interview with TMZ Sports, Charles spoke on his career and whether or not he’d achieved enough to be considered for the Hall of Fame. Charles has yet to retire from the NFL, and he played two games in 2018 for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite unproductive appearances in those two games, and 14 games the season prior for the Broncos, Charles is second to only Marion Motley in NFL career yards per carry with 5.4.
“That tells you what type of player I was,” Charles explained. “I gave it my all. Every time I touched the ball, I averaged six yards a carry basically.”
It just goes to show you exactly how dominant he was during his prime. A few unproductive seasons don’t even make a significant dent in his yards per carry totals.
Yards per carry is certainly a good argument for Charles. He’s got more than Jim Brown, Joe Perry, Gale Sayers, and Barry Sanders. Charles has a lot working against him though. First of all there’s a logjam of running backs waiting to get into the Hall of Fame. The Chiefs’ lack of playoff success during Charles’ career hurts his case significantly. He has plenty of accolades as a four-time pro bowler and a two-time first-team All Pro selection, but he doesn’t have the glory of a Super Bowl or MVP season to ride on.
Injury history and career length won’t hurt Charles in this process. There have been plenty of arguments against Charles’ case because his career spans 11 seasons and others achieved similar career yardage in less time. If you look at his career statistics you’ll find that most of his greatness spanned just five seasons (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014) while the others were plagued with injury. If anything he’s matched production to some of those in the Hall of Fame with shorter careers like Earl Campbell and Terrell Davis.
The clock hasn’t started to send Charles to Canton just yet, but when it does don’t expect him to be a first ballot guy. He’s going to need some strong voices on the selection committee arguing his case, but there is certainly a case to be made for enshrinement.
