The Kansas City Chiefs were hit with a lot of criticism when they opted to take a running back in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. The analytics hive bashed the Chiefs for their decision, claiming that running backs don’t matter. Others pontificated on the player they would have selected had they been the general manager.
Now, nearing the halfway point of the 2020 season, Clyde Edwards-Helaire has established himself as one of the premier offensive weapons in the NFL. He’s the No. 2 player in scrimmage yards in the league behind only Saints RB Alvin Kamara.
Check out the top players in the NFL in scrimmage yards through Week 7 below:
Defenses have struggled to stop Edwards-Helaire, whether he’s catching passes from Mahomes (gaining 194 yards on 22 receptions) or pounding the rock on the ground (rushing for 551 yards and two touchdowns on 115 attempts). His rushing yardage is also good for the No. 2 mark in the NFL, behind only Titans RB Derrick Henry.
Another area where Edwards-Helaire excels is yards after contact, with 372 following the win over the Broncos. The rookie phenom has proven to be one of the most difficult tackles in the NFL this season and he showed it yet again in Week 7.
“Yeah, how good is he, I mean the ability to break tackles, he’s got unbelievable balance, the contact thing is crazy, the yards after contact are nuts and so you got a chance to see that,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid boasted on Monday. “I don’t know how many snow games he’s played in his life coming from LSU there, so I don’t know how much they play or had the opportunity to jump in the snow there and play. I think he’s done a good job on contact. I think we got to see it even up another notch and it was great for him to have that reward of him scoring there.”
Edwards-Helaire is currently averaging 106 scrimmage yards per game. He’s pacing to finish his rookie season with 1,696 scrimmage yards and six touchdowns. While those touchdowns numbers would be low, the scrimmage yards would mark the most by a Chiefs player since the 2018 season when Tyreek Hill notched 1,630 yards from scrimmage. That’s not a bad mark to reach in your first season in the league.
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