Kansas City Chiefs: Clyde Edwards-Helaire wasting no time breaking out

Clyde Edwards-Helaire left one heck of a first impression with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Despite Damien Williams‘ run that gave the Kansas City Chiefs a Super Bowl 50 years in the making, the kingdom still needed a new horse in the backfield.

The passing game was already led by the “Legion of Zoom” that includes Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Mecole Hardman. Plus, they had the great tight end in Travis Kelce and who could forget the next golden boy of the NFL, the $500-million-man, quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

So why not add another weapon? Along came the draft and with it, the opportunity with their first-round draft pick. Enter running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire from the reigning national champion LSU Tigers.

After taking down Clemson in the National Championship Game with 110 yards on the ground, the Louisiana native wolfed down Texas BBQ as he ran for 138 yards on 25 carries and scored his first professional touchdown in a 34-20 victory over Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans.

The Kansas City Chiefs are just as in love with Clyde-Edwards Helaire as fans.

Though there was a good first impression, some predicted, however, that Edwards-Helaire would not be a Chief and, instead, the Super Bowl champions would target Georgia running back D’Andre Swift due to a perception that his blistering speed that would translate well to coach Andy Reid‘s style of play. His quarterback, however, thought differently.

According to reports, via Chiefs Wire, it was said that Mahomes vouched for Edwards-Helaire to general manager Brett Veach from the beginning.

"“I think the first thing that stood out from Clyde is when the competition and the games got bigger, it seemed like he played better.”"

Reid also admitted that he was not surprised at how well Helaire performed without having any reps in the preseason.

After one game, the request by Mahomes seems to paying off in great dividends. The speed that enabled Helaire to become a valuable asset for quarterback Joe Burrow in college is on full display in addition to a physical style of running that the Chiefs have lacked since the days of Priest Holmes.

With Williams no longer in the fold after opting out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Edwards-Helaire will be relied upon heavily to be the leader in the backfield. With his ability and an excellent first impression, who’s really going to stop the Chiefs? It’s hard enough to beat them with just their passing and now they add a running game? Good luck, NFL.