The Kansas City Chiefs have played five games. That's not the biggest sample size yet but it does begin to offer up some projections on how the season will play out for some players statistically. The running backs, Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis, will have funky numbers because Jamaal has missed time and, barring injury, he won't be missing much time down the stretch.
I looked at the current numbers for a handful of key Chiefs and projected those numbers out to 16 games. Obviously not all these will be close to the projections but it's fun to look at.
*Numbers are rounded.
Alex Smith
Actual: 100 / 158 (63 percent), 1,049 yards, 8 TDs, 4 INTs
On pace: 320 / 505 (63 percent), 3,356 yards, 26 TDs, 13 INTs
The numbers he is on pace for aren't all that far off of what we all thought we would see from Alex Smith at the beginning of the season. Smith threw for over 500 passes last year (508) for the first time in his career. The interceptions are on pace to be way up because he had three in the first game of the season. That is so far off of what he did last year where he had two interceptions in just one game, which was his highest of the season for any single game.
Jamaal Charles
Actual: 42 carries, 195 yards, 1 TD, 9 catches, 43 yards, 2 TDs
On pace: 134 carries, 624 yards, 3 TDs, 29 catches, 138 yards, 6 TDs
Jamaal Charles will roll through these numbers -- assuming he stays healthy. He has missed time due to his ankle injury but if he is healthy he will have no problem topping these numbers. This is under the assumption that Andy Reid, you know, gets him the ball.
Knile Davis
Actual: 73 carries, 327 yards, 3 TDs, 8 catches, 41 yards
On pace: 234 carries, 1,046 yards, 10 TDs, 26 catches, 131.2
Another one that is unlikely to hold. Knile Davis will not get carries at the rate he has gotten so far. He had 32 carries in a game and 48 carries over two games. If Jamaal Charles is healthy, that won't happen again. It wouldn't surprise me if the more accurate split between Jamaal and Knile is swapping their numbers projected here -- 1,000 yards for Jamaal and 600 yards for Knile.
Dwayne Bowe
Actual: 14 catches, 195 yards, 0 TDs
On pace: 45 catches, 624 yards, 0 TDs
Note that D-Bowe didn't play in the season opener. Outside of the touchdowns this doesn't seem all that far off from what some people thought. Bowe had 57 catches for 673 yards last year. These projected numbers are pretty close to that. He'll pick up a few touchdowns, sure. I predicted Bowe to have a better season than this. I thought he would be getting over 800 yards but plenty of others saw that as too optimistic. So far, it is.
Travis Kelce
Actual: 20 catches, 274 yards, 3 TDs
On pace: 64 catches, 877 yards, 10 TDs
Now this is fun, and through five games it seems realistic. Travis Kelce is clearly a key part of the Chiefs passing game. Alex Smith likes throwing to him. He is the only consistent threat to stretch the field. He picks up first downs like that's his only job. I can see this happening.
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