Clyde Edwards-Helaire looks like the real deal in electric debut
The NFL’s season opener between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans brought some unwelcome news for the rest of the league. Clyde Edwards-Helaire looks very much like the real deal.
Selected 32nd overall by the Chiefs in the 2020 NFL draft, the LSU product was seen as a perfect fit for one of the NFL’s most high-octane offenses. The scouting report on the 5-foot-7 running back was that he could make people miss, was hard to bring down even when defenders got their hands on him and could do significant damage in the passing game.
That’s pretty much what the rookie showed on Thursday in a strong debut, highlighted by a 27-yard touchdown run in which he broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, made Texans safety Justin Reid miss at the second level and raced into the end zone.
He finished with 138 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries in Kansas City’s 34-20 win.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire is the Chiefs’ latest weapon
That touchdown gave the Chiefs a 24-7 lead and brought Edwards-Helaire past 100 yards in his debut. He had already shown more of the same skills on earlier runs, easily finding holes and weaving through the Texans’ front seven.
Add that to a Chiefs offense that just torched its way to a Super Bowl championship and, yeah, letting Edwards-Helaire fall to the Chiefs at the end of the first round might have been a mistake. Edwards-Helaire didn’t even show his enormous potential as a receiver, and it’s already looking like covering him, Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and more is going to be an impossible task.
Have fun with that, AFC.
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