Chiefs’ Potential Split With Clyde Edwards-Helaire Makes Sense For Kansas City

The Kansas City Chiefs took a swing on a running back in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft but, three seasons into Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s career, they appear ready to cut ties with him and potentially reshape their running back room.

Edwards-Helaire has failed to live up to his draft status as the 32nd overall pick three years ago, averaging just 49.2 yards per game over the course of his pro career to this point. He ranks 29th among running backs over that span in Expected Points Added per play, according to nflindex.com.

This season, staying on the field was a problem for Edwards-Helaire, who suffered an ankle sprain in Week 11 and did not return, missing out on the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVII win over the Philadelphia Eagles despite being activated from injured reserve during the week leading up to the game.

A few days later, Edwards-Helaire — per CBS Sports — was at a fashion show in New York while the Chiefs were celebrating their victory at a parade in Kansas City.

That hinted at a break down in relations between the Chiefs and Edwards-Helaire and further suggestions theirs is a marriage about to come to an end came with a report from Nate Taylor of The Athletic that indicated Kansas City is not expected to pick up Edwards-Helaire’s fifth-year option.

Should he remain with the team, Edwards-Helaire will have another season to prove he can be an asset to Andy Reid’s offense.

But this could be viewed as a precursor to the Chiefs parting company with a player who has not lived up expectations via a trade, potentially pointing to more change at a position where Kansas City could see another significant departure.

Jerick McKinnon, who emerged as an outstanding receiving back for the Chiefs in 2022, is set to enter unrestricted free agency ahead of his age 31 season.

McKinnon accounted for 10 total touchdowns last season, nine of them coming through the air.

If both McKinnon and Edwards-Helaire depart, it would leave Isiah Pacheco with little support behind him on the depth chart and the Chiefs clearly in need of insurance policies in the backfield.

But Pacheco’s emergence as a rookie in 2022 may well be a huge part of the Chiefs’ possible willingness to let both McKinnon and Edwards-Helaire head to pastures new.

Pacheco ranked 10th in Football Outsiders’ advanced metrics measuring per-play value (DVOA) and overall value (DYAR) following a season in which he displayed burst, power and elusiveness in equal measure.

He did so as a sixth-round rookie, his rise to prominence arguably the perfect illustration of the Chiefs’ ability to find offensive contributors through a host of different avenues.

The Chiefs had the most efficient offense in football by DVOA in a campaign that was preceded by the blockbuster trade of Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins.

Pacheco’s success running the ball, along with contributions for a remodeled receiving corps featuring two veteran signings in Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, a rookie in Skyy Moore and trade acquisition Kadarius Toney, enabled the Chiefs to thrive despite the loss of the most feared deep threat in the NFL.

With nine picks in this year’s draft, the Chiefs have the resources through which to replace both McKinnon and Edwards-Helaire, either through a trade or the selection of draft prospects in the middle and later rounds of the draft.

The lack of a return on their investment in Edwards-Helaire and Pacheco’s quick success each serve as lessons to the Chiefs about spending premium draft capital on a running back.

Given the depth at the position in this year’s class — Pro Football Network has 12 in the top 150 of its big board — they have the opportunity to heed what they have learned from those contrasting experiences and still land a talent that can provide useful support to Pacheco in 2023.

In 2022, the Chiefs proved they can deliver elite levels of efficiency with unheralded rookies and seasoned veterans alike.

As such, there is little reason for them to stick with Edwards-Helaire when money can be better allocated elsewhere. Edwards-Helaire has not developed as they planned, but the joy the Chiefs have found in bringing along Pacheco and other talents means Kansas City can move on from its first-round miss with little concern about finding replacements for him and McKinnon who can maintain its backfield’s place among the league’s best.