I fully admit that I was a doubter of Kansas City Chiefs running back Chacandrick West. How could a guy with 12 career carries compete with Knile Davis, someone who had filled in admirably for Jamaal Charles in the past (and whose name lends itself to a wide variety of awesome nicknames)? Davis had a pair of 100-yard rushing games on his resume and a handful of touchdowns. West was a question mark who mustered just 33 rushing yards against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6.
I may have - ahem - jumped the gun on that judgment just a bit.
West rumbled his way to 110 yards on 22 carries (5.0 YPC) and one touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday. He also caught two passes for 19 yards. As of now, he is firmly entrenched as KC's starting running back and could continue to produce for fantasy owners.
"The good news for West's owners is the Chiefs' run blocking got back up to speed in Week 7, as they racked up a 57.7 percent [Good Blocking Rate] against the Steelers," ESPN NFL Insider KC Joyner wrote. "That was Kansas City's second best showing in the GBR metric all season long, a notable achievement given Pittsburgh ranked sixth in the league in rush yards allowed per game coming into Week 7 (93.3).
"Since the Chiefs were able to move the ball on the ground with consistency against a defensive platoon of this caliber, expect them to continue to give their ball carriers plenty of good blocking opportunities regardless of the matchup. That means West should be able to post more games of the 18-point caliber he tallied against the Steelers, so value him accordingly in potential trades."
The Chiefs next play the Detroit Lions who rank 24th in rushing yards allowed per game (123.4) and dead last in rushing touchdowns (10). In other words, the future is looking bright for West and his owners.