De'Anthony Thomas Is Perfect Complement to Jamaal Charles in Chiefs' Backfield

The Kansas City Chiefs selected Oregon running back De'Anthony Thomas during the fourth round on Saturday, giving them another layer of blazing speed to go wit Jamaal Charles in their backfield.

With the 124th pick of the NFL draft, Kansas City grabbed a back bristling with speed. Although he never received a full workload in the Ducks' offensive juggernaut, Thomas averaged 7.8 yards per carry over three years. It should be noted, however, that his production dwindled over the course of his college tenure, which likely dropped him to Day 3.

Year	Carries	Rushing Yards	YPC	Receptions	Reception Yards	Total TDs
2011	55	595	10.8	46	605	18
2012	92	701	7.6	45	445	17
2013	96	594	6.2	22	246	10

Charles took to Twitter to express his excitement at joining forces with Thomas, giving Kansas City a whole lot of quickness in its backfield.

Thomas returned the kind words Charles' way, via the team's official Twitter page.

The rookie is no threat to Charles' dominance as one of the league's premier rushers. But a team can never have enough depth at the position, which the Chiefs learned when the star rusher tore his ACL in 2011 and got injured during last year's Wild Card Round loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

While Knile Davis serves as the bigger, bruising foil, Thomas will come in to break off a big run while Charles takes a breather. 

If anything, the Chiefs grabbed Thomas to replace Dexter McCluster, a 5'8" blur in the backfield who transitioned into a full wide receiver role. He reeled in a career-high 53 catches last season before signing with the Tennessee Titans during the offseason.

NFL.com has Thomas listed at 5'9" and 174 pounds, which sunk the playmaker's overall draft value. But his speed makes him a great asset if Andy Reid can draw up plays to feed him the ball in open space.

He can also impose a threat on return duties, giving the Chiefs a versatile weapon at a substantial bargain. The NFL Scouting Combine didn't do him any favors, as his 4.50 40-yard dash didn't distinguish his quickness enough to offset his eight bench reps. 

His pro day yielded better results; Thomas clocked in at 4.39. As he told The Oregonian's Tyson Alger, the better result is more indicative of his nimble feet.

"I know I ran faster than 4.50. I feel like I ran 4.50 in ninth grade," Thomas said. "I feel like it made me train harder. I used that as motivation."

Players like McCluster, DeSean Jackson and Darren Sproles have created a blueprint for smaller speedsters to succeed despite a lack of size. NFL Network's Mike Mayock, per NFL.com's Chase Goodbread, thinks Thomas' talents have a place in the current NFL landcape:

"

Because of his speed and playmaking ability, in today's NFL he's more valuable than he would have been six, eight, 10 years ago. He probably goes in the fourth-round area. ... He's a kickoff guy, plus we got to get him 10 touches a game. How do we manufacture those 8 to 10 touches a game so he can make those plays for us that he did at Oregon?

"

Ranked 21st in total offensive yards last season, the Chiefs need playmakers wherever they can find them. Charles led the team in both rushing and receiving yards, accounting for 35.3 percent of their output with 1,980 combined yards.

Thomas won't deliver a consistent source of yardage, nor will he solve all the woes to the Kansas City passing game. The small runner can, however, contribute big plays in spurts to keep defenses on their toes. An interesting prospect, he has found the perfect situation behind an established running back who will allow the Chiefs to creatively employ the 21-year-old speedster in other ways.