Jamaal Charles sat down with the Arrowhead Addict podcast in conjunction to talk about the HOF, his career, and playing with Patrick Mahomes.
There are a handful of hypothetical scenarios that will forever be a part of Kansas City Chiefs lore related to this golden era of franchise history. You know the questions because you’ve asked them yourself: “What if Dee Ford hadn’t been offsides?” or “What if Patrick Mahomes had been given the reigns to start his career?”
Another such question has to do with the potential overlap of two franchise legends who barely missed one another: Mahomes and Jamaal Charles. Specifically, most of us in Chiefs Kingdom have asked at one point, “What if Jamaal Charles would have been able to play with Patrick Mahomes?”
The reason for the question should be obvious. Charles is a Hall of Fame talent (don’t argue with me here) who was arguably the single most exciting Chiefs player to ever watch until a certain quarterback came along. You can throw in Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill into that mix, too, but we’ll keep the top spot for Charles.
What made Charles so great is what makes Mahomes must-watch football as well: it felt like anything was possible at any time with the ball in his hands. Players and coaches today talk about the way that Mahomes keeps a play alive and how opposing teams can never let their guard down. Charles was the same way from the running back position, a player who could make something from nothing at any given moment.
As it turns out, Charles feels the same way as we all do. He wonders what it would have been like to play with Mahomes. Charles played through the 2018 season, so their careers did overlap at least in the league (Mahomes’ rookie year was 2017), but Charles was with the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars in his final two seasons and injuries had taken their toll at that point anyway.
In a recent interview with Arrowhead Addict, former Chiefs legend Jamaal Charles (in a partnership with Kingsford) spoke with our pal Sterling Holmes about a number of subjects, including what makes Andy Reid so great and what he and Mahomes would have been like together on the field. Charles was excited by the possibilities and admits he’s asked “What if?”
“Oh, yeah. Everybody would tell you they would have [liked it] if they were in this era. If I’d had a chance, you know, it would have been awesome. The things he can do with the ball and the things I can do with the ball with my hands, you can’t even imagine what we’d be able to do together. It would be crazy. To be able to be in an offense with Pat, that would be a dream come true. But it’s a time that just didn’t overlap.”