Burning The Straw Man: Was Clyde Edwards-Helaire a Bad Pick?

Burning The Straw Man: Was Clyde Edwards-Helaire a Bad Pick? – People love confirming their priors. Few things match the satisfaction of a well-earned “I told you so.” For those decrying first round running backs, Clyde Edwards-Helaire has offered an opportunity to take an early victory lap: certainly his production hasn’t been what fans, or the team, had hoped for. Supporters will note that the blocking, in front of him, has been abysmal, to which the ‘Running Backs Don’t Matter’ crowd will smugly reply: “exactly”(analytics have shown that running back production is largely dependent on blocking). As a tertiary member of the aforementioned group, and someone who initially opposed the CEH pick, I consider myself a fitting moderator. Did the Kansas City Chiefs miss out on an opportunity to grab a starting Offensive Lineman, or Linebacker? Let’s take a look.

Offensive Linemen: While the Chiefs did not know that Laurent Duvernay Tardif MD would be opting out, at the time of the draft, need at the Guard and Center position was still clearly evident. Since Chiefs picked at the end of the first, all the players they passed on fell to the next round. In the second round, two Offensive Linemen were selected: Robert Hunt (pick 39) and Ezra Cleveland (pick 58). Cleveland, who went much later in the draft, is a developmental tackle, with no snaps logged, on offense, this year. He is not an example of a player that could prove a more impactful pick, in 2020. Chiefs were able to secure Lucas Niang, in the third round, who, in my opinion, is a superior tackle prospect, making passing on Cleveland, in the first, a solid move.

Robert Hunt is a solid prospect, but struggled in training camp for Miami, and didn’t log significant snaps till week five, when injury forced him into action. Hunt is a great fit for a power blocking scheme, which I would like the Chiefs to switch to. Unfortunately, they currently rank dead last in Power Run DVOA, so it either is not or should not be a focus for them this year. There are reports that the New Orleans Saints believe their pick, Center, Cesar Ruiz, would have been taken by the Chiefs. With Austin Reiter, a free agent next year, yielding average, at best, results, Chiefs probably were considering an OL, with the first pick, but didn’t have an option who was a valuable scheme fit.

Linebackers: The one need, on the Chiefs roster that could possibly compete with Offensive Line comes at Linebacker. Anthony Hitchens has been the best contributor at the position, playing at an average level. Damien Wilson’s lack of athleticism really shows and his performance has slipped, relative to last year. Ben Niemann seems to have earned the coaches trust, due to his football IQ, but his brain keeps writing checks his body can’t cash. Being in the right position counts for little if you can’t make the tackle. Willie Gay shows promise, but is raw. Without preseason, it will take time to grow his role. If a quality starting Linebacker was on the board, when Chiefs picked, passing on him was undoubtedly a massive mistake.

Two Linebackers were selected in the 2^nd round: Josh Uche and Willie Gay. Obviously, the Chiefs would up with Willie Gay anyway, so taking him as a first round pick would’ve been a mistake. Josh Uche is more of a pass rushing 3-4 OLB type, though undersized, for that role. Although, he could potentially step into a SAM like role for a 4-3 team. He wasn’t the most experienced prospect and came with an injury history, but wound up with the New England Patriots due to his workmanlike attitude. After being a healthy scratch in week one (not on the game-day roster), his college foot injury returned to haunt him and the Patriots placed him on IR. He has yet to log a single snap, in the NFL.

While the Chiefs could have — potentially — selected better players, than Clyde Edwards-Helaire, in the first round, none were available at positions of significant need, except perhaps CB, which the Chiefs successfully addressed, later in the draft. The best reasonable argument to be made, against the pick, relies on the future development of players like Robert Hunt who might be more valuable in the long run, but are contributing less now. To a degree, those arguments also ignore the potential of future development for Clyde Edwards-Helaire. If indeed the draft comparison to Bryan Westbrook holds, we could see substantial leap in production from year one to year two. At the end of the day, CEH could prove less valuable than other picks Chiefs could have reasonably considered, but no evidence currently exists to back up that assertion.

Ransom Hawthorne — ArrowheadOne

Come back at noon today to read a piece by David Bell called:

“Chiefs: Two Way Too Early Mocks”

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