Look for 23-year old Jamaal Charles and 31-year old Thomas Jones should form a dynamic tandem in the Chiefs’ backfield in 2010.  Charles had a breakout season for the Chiefs in 2009.  He played in 15 games (10 starts) for the Chiefs last season and he carried the ball 190 times for 1,120 yards (5.9 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  Charles also caught 40 passes for 297 yards (7.4 avg) with 1 TD grab and he also returned 36 kickoffs for 925 yards (25.7 avg) with 1 TD return.  Charles has now played in 31 games (12 starts) in his two years with the Chiefs and he has carried the ball 257 times for 1,477 yards (5.7 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He has also caught 67 passes for 569 yards (8.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  It will be interesting to see if the Chiefs strip Charles of his duties as the kickoff returner (I think they will) so that he can focus on offense.  Charles has returned 51 kickoffs for 1,246 yards (24.4 avg) with 1 TD return in his career.  The Chiefs will likely split the carries almost 50/50 between Charles and Jones to keep both of them fresh and healthy.

31-year old Thomas Jones is a between the tackles mauler.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Jets last season in which he carried the ball 331 times for 1,402 yards (4.2 ypc) with 14 TD runs.  Jones also caught 10 passes for 58 yards (5.8 avg) last season.  Jones has now played in 148 games (107 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 2,280 times for 9,217 yards (4.0 ypc) with 60 TD runs.  Jones has also caught 289 passes for 1,858 yards (6.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his career to date.  Jones still has a lot left in the gas tank and he will team with Charles to give the Chiefs a ton of rushing yards in 2010.  Don’t be surprised if they both approach 1,000 yards rushing in 2010.

26-year old Jackie Battle will compete with 24-year old Javarris Williams for the #3 RB slot on the Chiefs.  Battle played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Chiefs last season in which he carried the ball 7 times for 21 yards (3.0 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for -3 yards (-1.5 avg).  Battle has now played in 17 games (0 starts) in his three years with the Chiefs and he has carried the ball 21 times for 68 yards (3.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also has caught 4 passes for -1 yards (-0.3 avg) for the Chiefs.  He probably has a small edge on Williams because of his experience.  Williams played in 4 games (0 starts) as a rookie last season for the Chiefs and he carried the ball 6 times for 6 yards (1.0 ypc).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CHIEFS RBs in 2010:  A

The Chiefs have waived 25-year old RB Kolby Smith.  Smith played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Chiefs last season and he carried the ball 15 times for 33 yards (2.2 ypc) while also catching 2 passes for 9 yards (4.5 avg).  In his three years with the Chiefs, Smith played in 27 games (9 starts) in which he carried the ball 162 times for 540 yards (3.3 ypc) with 3 TD carries.  He also caught 34 passes for 209 yards (6.1 avg) for the Chiefs.  Smith wasn’t going to get much P.T. behind Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones in 2010 so this was essentially a favor done for him as he was quickly claimed off waivers by the AFC West divison rival Denver Broncos.

The Chiefs are going with the same cast at QB in 2010 but one difference is that they will be working under a new offensive co-ordinator in Charlie Weis.  28-year old Matt Cassel played with the Patriots for a while so Weis might be able to bring out the best in him.  Cassel played in 15 games for the Patriots last year and he completed 271 of 493 passes (55%) for 2,924 yards with 16 TD passes and 16 INTs (69.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 50 times for 189 yards (3.8 ypc) last year.  Cassel has now played in 45 games in his NFL career and he has completed 620 of 1,048 passes (59.2%) for 6,870 yards with 39 TD passes and 29 INTs (79.6 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 135 times for 487 yards (3.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career.  Cassel has compiled a 14-16 record (.467) as a starting QB in the NFL.

27-year old Brodie Croyle will back up Cassel again this season for the Chiefs.  He played in 3 games for the Chiefs last year and he completed 23 of 40 passes (57.5%) for 230 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs (90.6 QB Rating).  Croyle has now played in 16 games in his career with the Chiefs and he has completed 173 of 300 passes (57.7%) for 1,631 yards with 8 TD passes and 8 INTs (70.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 10 times for 15 yards (1.5 ypc) in his career.  The Chiefs hope that Weis can coach Croyle up as he has a 0-9 record as a started for them.

26-year old Matt Gutierrez will likely be the #3 QB in 2010.  He played in 1 game for the Chiefs last season and he completed his only pass attempt for 3 yards last season.  He has now played in 2 games in his NFL career in which he has completed both of his pass attempts for 18 yards.  He has also carried the ball 5 times for -13 (-2.6 ypc) in his career.  Gutierrez will have to hold off Tyler Palko and Ingle Martin for the #3 job but I think he has the edge.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR CHIEFS QBs in 2010:  C