:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/4007785/124669997.jpg)
My fantasy football team is sucking it up thanks to an injury to my top pick, a Kansas City Chiefs running back you may know -- Jamaal Charles. (I get lots of, 'You write about football for a living so you should be great at fantasy football' but it just doesn't work like that.)
The Chiefs are struggling to the point where it's probably not a good idea to play any KC guys on your fantasy team. But if you must, I put together a few predictions on Chiefs players' fantasy numbers. I have the Chiefs scoring two offensive touchdowns so both those are included in these predictions.
QB Matt Cassel: Unfortunately, the Chiefs might be playing from behind this week which is a fortunate situation for those of you that must play Cassel on your fantasy football team today. I could see a situation where the Chiefs get down in the first half and Cassel is forced to throw it a lot more. Cassel's not a great fantasy play because he doesn't get many yards and, at least this year, hardly any touchdowns either. My prediction for Cassel: 210 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
RB Thomas Jones: He'll be the main guy now that RB Jamaal Charles is done for the year but that doesn't mean he'll be as effective. Jones is clearly at the end of his career but he was a decent fantasy football play at times last year because he received a lot of carries, he had opportunities. Unfortunately, he's not like Charles where he's going to bust off for 75 yards on one play. He'll be steady Eddie getting a few yards every carry which means he needs a lot of touches to do anything substantial. My prediction for Jones: 75 rushing yards, 15 receiving yards, 1 TD.
RB Dexter McCluster: I actually have him on my own team and, in a points-per-reception league, he's not a terrible play. He has 21 touches this season and he should be right around 10-14 touches today. He's not going to change the offense, or your fantasy team, but he's a nice addition. My prediction for McCluster: 30 rushing yards, 45 receiving yards.
WR Dwayne Bowe: He's about the only receiver worth mentioning for the Chiefs. Like Cassel, Bowe can put up some decent fantasy numbers today if the Chiefs get behind. He has seven receptions on the season and I could see him getting as many as seven today. I think this is a decent day for Bowe. My prediction for Bowe: 85 receiving yards, 1 TD.