Does Texas' Jamaal Charles belong in the Hall of Fame or the Hall of Very Good? | Golden

Jamaal Charles was one of the most explosive running backs ever to carry a football. The only thing standing between the Texas legend and pro football immortality is longevity.

When he played — he spent nine of his 11 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and retired as the franchise's career rushing leader — Charles was on the short list of most explosive runners, right there with Barry Sanders, Tony Dorsett, Gale Sayers, Eric Dickerson and the immortal Jim Brown.

Charles has been reluctant to speak about his Pro Football Hall of Fame case, preferring to let the numbers speak for themselves, but as someone who just loved watching him play in college and the pros, I can speak.

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He was one of the best to ever do it, but the small sample size is hurting his cause.

Charles was named one of 173 semifinalists for Canton last year but didn’t make the finalist list in December. Class of 2024 inductees Andre Johnson, Randy Gradishar, Dwight Freeney, Devin Hester, Patrick Willis and former Longhorns great Steve “Mongo” McMichael are deserving candidates, and future classes will be just as stacked, but Charles should have a case eventually. But it'll be an outside case, given the numbers he’s up against.

Making the case for Jamaal Charles

The case for Charles should come down to one statistic and two names.

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First, the stat. No running back in league history with a minimum of 1,000 carries averaged more than Charles’ 5.4 yards per carry. The two behind him are active Cleveland Browns star Nick Chubb (5.3) and the late, great Brown (5.2). Charles was a touchdown waiting to happen, but his numbers — 7,563 rushing yards and 64 touchdowns, which came over his first seven seasons before knee injuries slowed him down — are probably not enough to get him that gold jacket.

With that said, two Hall of Fame names come to mind when examining the case for Charles.

Sayers is arguably the most electric player in league history, but the Chicago Bears legend registered only 4,956 yards rushing in a career that was cut short by injury. His prowess in the return game — he had eight kickoff or punt returns for touchdowns and had a dazzling rookie campaign of 2,272 all-purpose yards — added to his legend, though the Kansas Comet never played for a winner.

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Charles, who spent the first two seasons of his career in a platoon situation with Larry Johnson, outdistances Sayers in the rushing department, but Sayers was a generational talent at the time whose immense popularity played well with Hall voters.

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The other name? Terrell Davis. The Denver Broncos great was a workhorse who ran for 7,607 yards and 60 touchdowns, but 6,413 yards and 58 scores came in his first four seasons, including 2,008 yards in 1998, when he led the Broncos to a second Super Bowl title and was the league MVP. His knees eventually gave out, and he was not the same over his last three seasons, but he was stellar when healthy.

Charles ran for 7,563 yards and 44 touchdowns, but his 2,593 receiving yards put him at 10,156 yards from scrimmage, compared with Davis’ 8,887.

Davis’ 2,000-yard season and his Super Bowl heroics — and a lot of this comes down to career moments — put him over with voters.

Is the Hall of Fame on Charles' horizon?

When one looks at running backs waiting to get in, Charles is in a long line that includes Roger Craig — a three-time Super Bowl winner who was the first back with more than 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season — along with Fred Taylor, Ricky Watters, Eddie George and fellow Texas ex Ricky Williams.

Charles was a blur on the field, and had he put together just a couple more memorable seasons, he would be in line for a bust in Canton.

As one voter told me years ago when I inquired about Williams’ case for the Hall, Charles might end up being a member of the Hall of Very Good.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football legend Jamaal Charles' case for making the Hall of Fame