Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff Writer
Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles is usually the focus of attention from opposing defenses. The attention gets so much that he said he can feel at times like LeBron James.
“I take it like it’s a compliment,” Charles said Saturday. “I feel like that’s the only reason we get to stay in the league as long as I can. I feel like if they [can] stop me, then my time is up.
“As long as I play in this league and play on a high level, I always feel like a team is going to have to stop me. I feel like sometimes I’m the LeBron of football, especially at my position because I can do so much.”
Jamaal Charles says he feels like “the LeBron of football, especially at my position because I can do so much.” Peter Aiken/Getty Images
Charles, 28, has been one of the NFL’s premier running backs for several years, but is he really the LeBron James of the NFL? ESPN’s Stats & Information group dug up some numbers for both players that revealed Charles has a way to go before he catches James.
Charles was responsible for 27.8 percent of the Chiefs’ yards in the 15 games he played in 2014. In contrast, James assisted or scored 40.9 percent of the points for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 69 games last season.
Last season, when Charles rushed for 1,033 yards, was only the third time in his seven seasons he wasn’t named as the Chiefs’ Most Valuable Player as that honor went to linebacker Justin Houston, who led the NFL with 22 sacks.
Charles also missed winning the award when he suffered his ACL tear in 2011, and in his rookie season of 2008, when he was a backup to Larry Johnson.