Chiefs: Everything’s Better With Clyde-the… “Air Helaire” – When the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Clyde Edwards-Helaire, I didn’t know what to make of the choice at first. Now that some time has passed, I’m convinced more than ever that the Chiefs head coach, Andy Reid, and general manager, Brett Veach, chose CEH because of his versatility: his ability to wear many hats.
Note: About the title of this piece… I was lamenting the fact that basketball player, Clyde “The Glide” Drexler, already had the nickname I thought would be apropo for CEH, but when I began to research other possibilities, that’s when I realized the Chiefs will be asking CEH to wear many different hats. Besides, I found another nickname I like much better.
Part of my initial reaction to CEH being chosen with the Chiefs first overall pick in this draft had to do with other, presumably, more pressing needs. Not only that but CEH will never be confused with Jamaal Charles: he’s not going to run away from many DBs in pursuit. Also, CEH will not be confused with Christian Okoye: who could run over and through defensive linemen and linebackers alike.
Could Clyde Edwards-Helaire be compared to Priest Holmes? That would be a much closer match. Do you recall in 2002 and 2003 when Priest had 21 TDs then followed that up the next year with 27. Don’t forget Holmes averaged 111 yards per game the next season in 2004. Well, last season, CEH had 17 TDs in 15 games and also averaged 125 yards per game from scrimmage (counting his receiving yards).
What interests me today is the many different hats that Andy Reid wants CEH to wear. One clue comes to us from his comment that CEH reminds him of Brian Westbrook (who Reid drafted in the 3rd round in 2002 and who had over 2,100 yards from scrimmage in 2007). GM Brett Veach shared Reid’s declaration:
“We’re extremely excited. A few weeks ago [prior to the draft] when we were kind of putting the final touches on our board and looking at a group of players that we thought would be there, I remember talking to [Reid] reminding him how much [CEH] reminds me of Brian Westbrook. Coach called back and after a few conversations he admitted he thought he was better than Brian.”
High praise for sure, but more importantly, revealing. So, what does Reid’s comparison to Brian Westbrook tell us about CEH? Let’s take a look at the many different hats Reid will have him wearing to find out.
Clyde-the-Hide
Andy Reid likes to use deception in his offense whenever possible and his All Pro QB is a master at it. So, who better to kick that offensive confusion into hyper-drive than by using a 5-foot-7 RB who can get lost amongst the Redwoods of the DL? None other than the diminutive Clyde Edwards-Helaire. If CEH can help provide even a half second of play-action indecision for opposing LBs and DBs then this is a critically important attribute he brings to the table. It also makes Patrick Mahomes a better quarterback. Giving PMII more time in the pocket should prove disastrous for Chiefs opponents and if they begin to ignore the running game, like many teams have done in 2019, CEH will rip them a new one.
Although I seriously doubt that Patrick Mahomes is actually involved in the selection process of draft picks, I do find it interesting that he is being asked who he’d prefer. That seems to indicate that Reid and Veach want to pull him in and make him happy. Maybe someday he has that influence there but now? I don’t think so.
Clyde-the-Slide
Edwards-Helaire’s lateral ability is comparable to that of any running back in the NFL… right now. I’d like to compare him to Barry Sanders but any such analogies could prove to be fatal for fans who get their expectation panties all in a bunch if things don’t work out exactly that way. Sure, CEH may make 5 moves before heading upfield sometimes but RB Coach Deland McCullough will teach that out of him and show CEH his “one-cut-and-go” method. However, the extra moves CEH makes usually reap great rewards so I doubt Reid and crew do too much tampering with his running style.
Clyde-on-the-Side
When re-watching tape of the 2019 Chiefs, it’s amazing to think about how many 3rd and long situations the offense gets themselves into. The addition of Clyde Edwards-Helaire should improve that when Andy Reid uses him as an outlet for Patrick Mahomes. In the LSU offense, CEH provided Joe Burrow a target over the middle innumerable times allowing them to get out of many 3rd down jams they had gotten into. In K.C. we’ll not only see Reid utilizing CEH in that way, but also by giving PMII a dynamic playmaker in the flats.
Here’s the link to an 11:45 video, Pre-draft breakdown, by Brett Kollmann of Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Kollmann compares CEH to Le’Veon Bell as well as Devonta Freeman in his prime. Here’s a set of Screen Caps from Kollmann’s breakdown when CEH bounces the play to the right.
Clyde-Out-Wide
CEH had 453 receiving yards in 2019 and will present a problem for anyone who is assigned to cover him. Do you put a LB on him? You better not. Do you put a Safety on him? If you do, a number of Chiefs wideouts with engines inside made for the Bonneville Salt Flats will burn you but fast. Do you assign two CBs to cover him like they do to Travis Kelce? Well, there are only so many DBs to go around so, no. In any case, if you are an opposing DC… you will likely see an uptick in Unemployment claims that week… or… the week after.
I guess Dabo Swinney — Clemson HC –knew who LSU’s best offensive player was.
James Russell makes a great point here. The pass may have been incomplete but, Clemson sent their best defender to the far outside to play CB. Will NFL teams do the same? I doubt it since the Chiefs have so many other incredible receivers to defend.
The ability to manipulate defenders pre-snap is exactly what Reid and Mahomes want and CEH should give them more opportunities to do that. LSU used CEH out wide a number of times and it worked. No doubt that Reid will do the same. The following tweet shows that LSU used CEH as a WR split out wide many times in their National Championship game.
Clyde-the-Ride
CEH has no problem putting his head down and plowing through a defender and taking him for a ride. Anything to get a first down or a touchdown. He has a powerful lower body. There’s no better way to illustrate his ability to get a push than:
Clyde-the-Dignified
The Chiefs like to bring in players who are great locker room guys and CEH is a fit, 110%. Here’s Brett Veach on CEH:
“He’s going to come in right away and pick up this offense quickly. Everyone that you talk to at LSU loved his character.”
Ed Orgeron, the LSU head coach, said of Clyde Edwards-Helaire:
“Well you get all the information that actually happened. You get the truth, and then you deal with it, and we do that with all our young men. I’m proud of Clyde. Clyde is a very good young man. He’s one of the highest character guys we have on our team.”
“Clyde”… They Cried
Now that we’re a good distance beyond the 2020 draft, it’s hard to see how Clyde Edwards-Helaire fell as far as he did, and right into the Chiefs collective laps, even if you’re not a fan of taking a RB in the first round. You’ve got to love a quote like this from GMFB’s Peter Schrager, “I was told a lot of GMs threw their papers off their desk when Clyde Edwards-Helaire fell to the Chiefs!”
Clyde-the-Princess-Bride
While the idea of Clyde Edwards-Helaire becoming anyone’s “bride” is strange at best, what’s not strange is that he’s already projected by some to present the best Fantasy Option out of all the rookies drafted this year. Now, with all of those fine and well touted Wide Receivers drafted ahead of him, doesn’t some of this have to do with how Reid intends on using him?
Therefore and hencewith, I do hereby dub thee…
Clyde: Air-Helaire
Sometimes Clyde Edwards-Helaire just makes guys miss, totally, like they’re grasping at air. Thus: Air-Helaire! He has a spin move that is next to none and he uses it to get out of trouble sometimes and other times, just to pick up an extra yard and a first down in the process. Would someone like that be useful in Andy Reid’s offense? [It’s a rhetorical question and needs no answer.]
Admittedly, some of the benefits of drafting Clyde Edwards-Air-Helaire are not hats he’ll wear at all… but every single one of them is a feather in Andy Reid’s hat. Fur sure. Fur sure!
Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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