Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire was met with high expectations upon being drafted by the then-defending Super Bowl champs in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.
The strange thing, Edwards-Helaire’s 1,100 all-purpose yards in 13 games would be considered rather impressive for any other rookie running back. Especially for a rookie that had to put up with the kind of off-season CEH did last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, Edwards-Helaire’s rookie season was considered a disappointment in the eyes of some onlookers. Amongst various factors, the second-year back suffered a lower-body injury late in the season that noticeably hampered his performance down the stretch.
“In the Super Bowl, I was probably about 85% — close to 90%,” he admitted. “But being able to rest was kind of the big thing. Before that, I had a 15-game championship season with LSU. Three days after that, I was already training and we hopped right into the season; it was kind of a rolling two years for me of nothing but football. Just having the time to finally let my body recover and then [being] specific on my training in the offseason and rehab [is what] got me where I am right now,” he explained.
Now at 100-percent, Edwards-Helaire said he’s ready for another chance to earn the coaching staff’s trust to carry the load on the ground and looks forward to growing with his teammates, which he admits was a difficult thing to do last year due to the league’s pandemic protocols.
“I was just a rookie last year,” he noted. “Week in and week out, they see it at practice — but when it’s game time, everybody kind of gets into their own rhythm once Pat [gets] comfortable. Everything was kind of sped up at the beginning of the season, so during the season was kind of the time to get comfortable. And it was masks and kind of staying away from each other — so trying to even bond outside, it really wasn’t happening. The only time we were really able to be around each other was on the field.”
Edwards-Helaire also told reporters that he’s working on being a better pass-catcher during camp as well.
“I was working on [my] hands, working on routes, because I knew I was going to be kind of pinpointed this training camp.”
Everyone around the Chiefs’ organization knows at this point that Head Coach Andy Reid loves to get his running back involved in the passing game. Whether it’s screenplays, sending them in the flat, or having them come out of the backfield.
Edwards-Helaire also said that being in Reid’s system for a year has also helped in his development.
“Most definitely — especially having the same offense [and] the same scheme,” he noted. “I got chewed out last year for saying Coach Reid’s playbook wasn’t the hardest, but I mean, I had three different offenses in three years at LSU. That’s just what I do, man. I’m a football player and this is my job.”
Going into his second season, Edwards-Helaire said his main focus was hitting each play’s intended aiming points on the field. Saying there’s little room for error when his team’s in the red zone, where Kansas City struggled to score last season.
“We do it all,” he said. “It’s based on the defense that we’re playing… it just depends. But honestly, I’m a running back. I like running in anything that we can make happen on any scheme that’s working at the time.”
