When Jamaal Charles went down with the ACL injury, Charcandrick West was the guy to get in free agency. In fact, in between Week 5 and Week 6, West’s ownership percentage is season-long formats went up 79.8 percent.

West’s ownership percentage was just 0.2% while Jamaal Charles’ femur was still correctly attached to his tibia.

In Week 6, those thousands of brand-new West owners might’ve played the second-year back out of Abilene Christian – many out of necessity after losing Charles. And on nine carries for just 33 yards, with a lost fumble, West’s first performance as starter was extremely underwhelming.

Nevertheless, West owners have to be patient.

To be fair, the Vikings were at home coming off their bye week and if it weren’t for a 71-yard run by Ronnie Hillman two weeks ago and Carlos Hyde’s fluky monster Week 1, the Vikings’ run defense would be one of the best in football. Head coach Andy Reid reiterated post-game that the Chiefs would use both West and Knile Davis.

West’s nine carries was puny and not what anyone was hoping for, but it beat out Davis’ seven carries. Both running backs also had a catch. Most importantly, West received 69% of snaps vs. the Vikings to Davis’ 31%. While West didn’t have a good game, it should still be said that he is the most complete back on the Chiefs. It’s no secret that Reid loves to spread defenses out and use his west coast philosophy. With a back like West, Reid has the best of both worlds as West has the ability to take draws from shotgun because of his speed and he has the ability to catch passes out of the backfield in stride or as a dump-down option.

In Week 7, the Chiefs will be at home when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unfortunately for West, the Chiefs will draw another tough run defense, as the Steelers currently rank 2nd against running backs based on fantasy points, giving up an average of just under 10 points per game. With another week against a tough opponent, West may not be able to show off his upside just yet, but he’s still a talented player and he’s in the perfect place to succeed for the rest of the year.