RADIO
Jamaal Charles' owners worried for their team when they lost him for the year due to a torn ACL two weeks ago, but they are breathing a little easier if they were lucky enough to snatch up his teammate and emerging fantasy star Charcandrick West as a replacement.
West rushed for 110 yards and scored his first career touchdown while simultaneously setting himself apart from the rest of Kansas City running backs in his team's 23-13 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday. West, who is still available in nearly 40 percent of fantasy leagues, was deemed the starter earlier in the week, but it was believed he would be sharing duties with teammates Knile Davis and, to a lesser extent, Spencer Ware.
Davis and Ware combined to rush the ball three times between them, combining for 10 yards. They also caught no balls out of the backfield, while West added two catches for 19 yards. From here on out it appears Davis and Ware may only get the occasional spot rush attempt while sharing third-down duty. Davis could possibly see some catches out of the backfield on third down, as he is the more accomplished player of the two, but other than that, there doesn't appear to be any fantasy upside with West's arrival.
Looking ahead, West owners can rejoice in knowing that he should have plenty of opportunities to put up stellar numbers leading into the fantasy playoffs. He should continue his momentum against Detroit overseas next week before facing a stiff test in Denver.
After that he should bounce right back against a Chargers team that's been terrible against the run on the 22nd of November, a team he'll see again two weeks later after facing the Bills and Raiders. Finally, when the playoffs start for most leagues, the Chiefs face the Ravens who have been decent against the run, but are heading the wrong way as their disaster of a season continues.
