Kansas City first-rounder Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a disappointment as a rookie, especially for those who selected him in the first or second rounds of fantasy drafts. A couple of big games, but more commonly he didn't do much. But Kansas City didn't add anyone significant in the offseason (sorry, Jerick McKinnon), while releasing Damien Williams, so Edwards-Helaire gets another chance to be a standout player.
In the offseason, he's been working on his receiving skills. "Not just on routes out of the backfield but also spread out in the slot and wideout position," says Edwards-Helaire. "Just being able to expand my skill set I feel like I was a decent receiving back in college ... we're just kind of enhancing it."
Despite working with one of the league's best quarterbacks, Edwards-Helaire caught only two-thirds of the passes thrown his way last year. That was one of the worst rates in the league among all running backs with at least 25 targets in the passing game. Teammate Darrel Williams wasn't much better, so there's that, but it's definitely an area where Edwards-Helaire can improve.
| RUNNING BACK RECEIVING, 2020 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | No | Yds | Avg | TD | % |
| Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 39 | 36 | 299 | 8.3 | 1 | 92.3 |
| Jamaal Williams, G.B. | 35 | 31 | 236 | 7.6 | 1 | 88.6 |
| Latavius Murray, N.O. | 26 | 23 | 176 | 7.7 | 1 | 88.5 |
| Myles Gaskin, Mia. | 47 | 41 | 388 | 9.5 | 2 | 87.2 |
| Mike Davis, Car. | 70 | 59 | 373 | 6.3 | 2 | 84.3 |
| Brian Hill, Atl. | 30 | 25 | 199 | 8.0 | 0 | 83.3 |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 65 | 54 | 403 | 7.5 | 2 | 83.1 |
| Nyheim Hines, Ind. | 76 | 63 | 482 | 7.7 | 4 | 82.9 |
| Antonio Gibson, Was. | 44 | 36 | 247 | 6.9 | 0 | 81.8 |
| James Robinson, Jac. | 60 | 49 | 344 | 7.0 | 3 | 81.7 |
| Dalvin Cook, Min. | 54 | 44 | 361 | 8.2 | 1 | 81.5 |
| James Conner, Pitt. | 43 | 35 | 215 | 6.1 | 0 | 81.4 |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 26 | 21 | 138 | 6.6 | 1 | 80.8 |
| D'Andre Swift, Det. | 57 | 46 | 357 | 7.8 | 2 | 80.7 |
| Kenyan Drake, Ariz. | 31 | 25 | 137 | 5.5 | 0 | 80.6 |
| Chris Carson, Sea. | 46 | 37 | 287 | 7.8 | 4 | 80.4 |
| Duke Johnson, Hou. | 35 | 28 | 249 | 8.9 | 1 | 80.0 |
| Giovani Bernard, Cin. | 59 | 47 | 355 | 7.6 | 3 | 79.7 |
| David Montgomery, Chi. | 68 | 54 | 438 | 8.1 | 2 | 79.4 |
| Chase Edmonds, Ariz. | 67 | 53 | 402 | 7.6 | 4 | 79.1 |
| James White, N.E. | 62 | 49 | 375 | 7.7 | 1 | 79.0 |
| Kalen Ballage, 2TM | 37 | 29 | 166 | 5.7 | 0 | 78.4 |
| Wayne Gallman, NYG | 27 | 21 | 114 | 5.4 | 0 | 77.8 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 107 | 83 | 756 | 9.1 | 5 | 77.6 |
| Leonard Fournette, T.B. | 47 | 36 | 233 | 6.5 | 0 | 76.6 |
| Devin Singletary, Buff. | 50 | 38 | 269 | 7.1 | 0 | 76.0 |
| Rex Burkhead, N.E. | 33 | 25 | 192 | 7.7 | 3 | 75.8 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 63 | 47 | 355 | 7.6 | 2 | 74.6 |
| Kareem Hunt, Cle. | 51 | 38 | 304 | 8.0 | 5 | 74.5 |
| Josh Jacobs, L.V. | 45 | 33 | 238 | 7.2 | 0 | 73.3 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 71 | 52 | 338 | 6.5 | 2 | 73.2 |
| Kerryon Johnson, Det. | 26 | 19 | 187 | 9.8 | 1 | 73.1 |
| J.D. McKissic, Was. | 110 | 80 | 589 | 7.4 | 2 | 72.7 |
| Melvin Gordon, Den. | 44 | 32 | 158 | 4.9 | 1 | 72.7 |
| David Johnson, Hou. | 46 | 33 | 314 | 9.5 | 2 | 71.7 |
| Jerick McKinnon, S.F. | 46 | 33 | 253 | 7.7 | 1 | 71.7 |
| Todd Gurley, Atl. | 35 | 25 | 164 | 6.6 | 0 | 71.4 |
| Tony Pollard, Dall. | 40 | 28 | 193 | 6.9 | 1 | 70.0 |
| Malcolm Brown, LAR | 33 | 23 | 162 | 7.0 | 0 | 69.7 |
| Boston Scott, Phil. | 36 | 25 | 212 | 8.5 | 1 | 69.4 |
| Darrel Williams, K.C. | 26 | 18 | 116 | 6.4 | 0 | 69.2 |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire, K.C. | 54 | 36 | 297 | 8.3 | 1 | 66.7 |
| Ronald Jones, T.B. | 42 | 28 | 165 | 5.9 | 1 | 66.7 |
| Kyle Juszczyk, S.F. | 29 | 19 | 202 | 10.6 | 4 | 65.5 |
| Ito Smith, Atl. | 26 | 17 | 75 | 4.4 | 0 | 65.4 |
| Dion Lewis, NYG | 30 | 19 | 127 | 6.7 | 1 | 63.3 |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | 31 | 19 | 114 | 6.0 | 0 | 61.3 |
| Miles Sanders, Phil. | 52 | 28 | 197 | 7.0 | 0 | 53.8 |
| Jeff Wilson, S.F. | 28 | 13 | 133 | 10.2 | 3 | 46.4 |
It's fair to question if Edwards-Helaire can break out in year 2, but it's encouraging that he's motivated to improve in the passing game, and also that his competition is fairly unremarkable. Williams will be cheaper in drafts, but Edwards-Helaire will probably be undervalued, as well. Looks like a worthwhile dice roll if he falls too far.
--Andy Richardson