Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles had a first half for the ages Sunday, already setting a season-high in fantasy points and then some as the Chiefs lead the Oakland Raiders 35-17 at halftime.
Jamaal Charles has monster first half for Chiefs, fantasy owners
The running back already has four touchdowns in the game Sunday, with a half still to play. We break down the fantasy implications.
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Charles only has 16 rushing yards (on six carries) through the first half, but did score on a one-yard touchdown run. More to the point, he has six receptions for 116 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. Charles’ first score came on a 49-yard catch-and-run screen pass on the team’s first play from scrimmage, only 10 seconds into the game. He added a 39-yard score later in the first quarter, and a 16-yarder with five minutes left in the second.
Fantasy impact: At this point, Charles is running away with the No. 1 slot among fantasy running backs. He already had an 18-point lead on LeSean McCoy, in second place, and a 23-point advantage on No. 3 Matt Forte. And that was all before Charles put up a season-high 36 fantasy points just in the first half Sunday.
At this point, the question isn’t whether Charles is the No. 1 running back this season; the question is whether, barring injury, he is the first overall pick in fantasy for 2014. And at this point, the answer looks like “yes.”
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