Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Louisiana State University
Clyde Edwards-Helaire was taken at Pick 32 in Round 1 by the Kansas City Chiefs and was the 1st running back off the board. He spent three years at Louisiana State University where he ran for 1,414 yards on 215 carries (6.6 yards per carry) and caught 55 passes for 453 yards with 17 total touchdowns during his last year in college.
Athletic Profile
Film Analysis
Running: Clyde Edwards-Helaire has excellent footwork and lateral agility. He is a smart runner who attacks each defender with a plan on how to beat them without wasting any steps. Although his top speed isn’t that great on film, his stop and start ability is great. It allows him to outrun defenders by getting to his top speed before they do. When he wasn’t making defenders miss with his agility, he was able to run through arm tackles showing his strength and contact balance. His instincts and vision are also great. He consistently knew where the holes would open up, allowing him to time his acceleration perfectly. Despite his strength to break arm tackles, he wasn’t really a pile pushing running back and he lacks that top speed that would set him apart in the NFL. He may be able to earn trust on a team quickly though as he never fumbled in college, which puts him high on the fantasy radar if you’re in need for year one production.
Receiving: His route running out of the backfield is excellent and his ability in space might be even better. Edwards-Helaire’s playmaking ability in space guaranteed LSU extra yards once it was in his hands. In the championship game, he was split out wide more often than he was in the backfield it felt. He’s versatile and smart with good route running which sets him up to be a three down back in the NFL.
Pass Blocking: He didn’t wow me with his pass protection, but he’s smart and should be able to pick it up quickly. He’s not a liability, but it’s definitely not a strength. In order for him to be on the field more in the NFL, he’s going to need to commit to getting better at pass protection.
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Landing Spot Reaction
Well, here we are. The first running back taken is going to the best landing spot in all of football. The most prolific offense in the NFL for the foreseeable future and the new lead running back is Clyde Edwards-Helaire. It’s a crowded backfield after they re-signed Damien Williams and signed Deandre Washington before the draft bringing the total number of running backs on the roster to five. None of those guys mean anything to Edwards-Helaire’s stock and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Damien Williams is 28 years old and is an unrestricted free agent after this year. Darwin Thompson is a sixth-round pick from last year who couldn’t earn his way onto the field despite a lot of hype in the dynasty community. Darrel Williams is an unrestricted free agent next year and also hasn’t proven himself. DeAndre Washington signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs a few weeks ago and is no guarantee to make the roster. This backfield belongs to a running back that will take advantage of having wide open spaces around him thanks to the speed of the wide receivers and the threat of Kelce at tight end. He is a three-down running back in this league and he just hit the jackpot of landing spots.
As far as other players on his team, the wide receivers won’t be impacted much, but you can forget about your Damien Williams shares and throw out your Darwin Thompson hopes and dreams while you’re at it. The wide receivers on this team (Hill, Watkins, and Hardman), will be the biggest threats on the field as long as Patrick Mahomes is behind center because he can hit them anywhere on the field as long as they can run faster than the corners. Mahomes himself can’t go much higher in dynasty but he gets another weapon to his arsenal. If Mahomes is healthy this year, we may experience a record-breaking offensive performance. Once again, throw away any hopes and dreams of Darwin Thompson being relevant in dynasty. Damien Williams will be lucky to be on the team past this year so try to sell him if you still can.
Dynasty Draft Projection
We were all waiting to see what running back the Chiefs would take. They ended up taking Edwards-Helaire, who happens to be my number five running back overall. That doesn’t matter anymore. He was still in the top tier of running backs and he went to the landing spot that is the best with no threats around him. He is the 1.01 in non-superflex leagues.
Draft Night-Where would I take him in a dynasty draft? Did he move in my rankings?Thanks for reading and stay tuned to Dynasty Football Factory for all your NFL Draft night coverage. Follow me on Twitter @DFF_JoeMem to join in on the draft conversation!
