Damien Williams has informed the Chiefs that he intends to opt out of the 2020 season for concerns related to COVID-19. Williams has been a reliable postseason hero for the Chiefs and thought to be the team’s starter to start the season, but his personal choice obviously changes that.
And it just so happens that Kansas City spent a first-round draft pick on a certain person that we’ve constantly debated. A rookie who won a national championship at LSU and is among the most polished pass receivers in the draft class. A guy who, without playing a single professional football down, will be a first-round selection. And a guy who’s already following his initials.
CEH Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
There was no questioning his pedigree after 2019. As LSU leader, Edwards-Helaire rushed for 1,414 yards and caught 55 passes for another 453 yards, totaling 17 touchdowns in 15 games. Specifically he had good numbers against tough competition, running for 627 yards (6.0 yards per carry) and seven scores on 105 carries with 258 yards and a receiving score on 32 catches in six games against the top 10 competition (there was a seventh game but he only had two carries).
How high is Edwards-Helaire now? the Fantasy Football Today the crew discussed it in a breaking news podcast. Follow all of our podcasts and subscribe here.
Edwards-Helaire is the first running back Andy Reid has taken with a first-round pick. There are good reasons for this. Beyond college production, Edwards-Helaire was emerging as a three-game player mostly prepared for the NFL. He runs with good patience and very good cutting ability, and as a back pass he has already accomplished quite a bit in terms of catching the ball and creating yards after the catch. It would be a perfect prospect if he ran a little faster (his 40 time in the NFL Combine was 4.6 seconds). Reid and General Manager Brett Veach compared Edwards-Helaire to Brian Westbrook after the selection, but in reality, Edwards-Helaire compares favorably to Kareem Hunt.
The same Kareem Hunt who totaled nearly 1,800 yards with 11 touchdowns as a rookie for the Chiefs. And then he averaged over 100 total yards per game with 14 scores in 12 outings alongside Patrick Mahomes.
Fantasy managers can connect the dots here. Reid’s offensives have been excellent for runners, and there’s no doubt that is the case again in 2020, as long as Mahomes is under the center threatening the deep ball game after the game. Safeguards rarely, if ever, clutter the line of scrimmage to deter Chiefs from running. Reid’s story includes several rookie runners, including Hunt, who have done well in his first season. Edwards-Helaire is in this fortuitous position.
It’s safe to say that Edwards-Helaire, save for a crash at training camp, will be the best of the Chiefs in 2020 and able to have a rookie season similar to Hunt’s. And that, folks, it’s worth risking a first-round pick. Weighing his lead against all of the other five not-so-obvious Fantasy rushers, he ranks sixth overall in PPR and seventh overall in non-PPR. Miles Sanders was someone I loved writing with a total potential of 1,500 yards. I think Edwards-Helaire can overcome that. I prefer to have CEH.
Solidifying this projection is a Chiefs depth chart that is not very threatening to the Edwards-Helaire state. Really, the only runner he could challenge during a game time is DeAndre Washington, the former Raider who has a good experience along with impressive versatility to help Edwards-Helaire carry the load. Boys like Darwin Thompson and Darrel Williams, while skilled in their own way, just don’t seem like serious threats. He also wouldn’t sign any Chiefs running back at this point on training ground.
I think Washington justifies a late selection. In addition to being an experienced running back who could play three takedowns and complement Edwards-Helaire, Washington has the built-in advantage of playing with Mahomes at Texas Tech for two seasons. That chemistry, particularly in a year when teams won’t have much practice to prepare for the regular season, is a bonus. Remember Washington’s name late on Draft Day.
