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Will Kansas City Chiefs' Jamaal Charles be a better player this year?

Given all the changes around the KC Chiefs offense this year, will Jamaal Charles be a better player this year than last?

USA TODAY Sports

We've spent a lot of time recently talked about Alex Smith, Jamaal Charles and the Kansas City Chiefs offense. Most of that was started by the hiring of Chris Ault, the creator of the pistol offense, which now has us wondering what the Chiefs offense will look like next season and who will be affected. (FYI: The Chiefs are not a full-time pistol team.)

There's been a lot of talk on how the Chiefs offense -- the West Coast Offense, along with any of the pistol or spread that they use -- will change what Jamaal Charles does. It could mean less carries for him, but more touches. He's widely expected to be more of a factor in the passing game, catching balls out of the backfield.

For example, Charles had 285 carries and 35 receptions last year. I could see the total number of touches -- 315 remain roughly similar. I do not expect to see Charles carrying the ball that many times -- let's bump that down below 250. I also see his receptions increasing -- let's say 50 or more.

My question for you is simple: Will these changes make Jamaal Charles a better player in 2013 than he was in 2012?

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