KC Chiefs need to get Clyde Edwards-Helaire more involved in passing game

Clyde Edwards-Helaire needs to be more involved in the KC Chiefs’ offense.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a lot of different weapons offensively, but they drafted Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the first round so that they’d have a lethal running back they could use both in the run game and in the passing game. So far, Edwards-Helaire has been consistent, but he hasn’t had an insanely dominant game since Week 1 against the Texans.

In that game, the rookie running back out of LSU rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown, but didn’t do anything in the receiving game. Week 2 changed that, as he had 32 yards receiving off of six catches. His best week in the passing game came in Week 3 against the Ravens when he grabbed five passes for 70 yards in that offensive onslaught in Baltimore. He followed that up with just 27 receiving yards in Week 4.

Getting Clyde Edwards-Helaire the ball more through the air will really put the KC Chiefs’ offense over the top.

It’s not shocking that without a preseason or much of a training camp this past summer that it’d take a little bit longer for Edwards-Helaire to get adjusted to the offense and for the coaches to figure out the best way to use him. With a month of games in the book now, fans should hopefully get to see the rookie running back utilized more in the offense.

Even with the lack of CEH being used as a receiver, he’s still put up big numbers thus far. Here are his total yards from scrimmage in each of his four games since he joined the Chiefs for their run it back season.

1. 138 rushing yards vs Texans (2 targets, 0 catches, 0 yards receiving)
2. 70 total yards vs Chargers (8 targets, 6 catches, 32 yards receiving)
3. 134 total yards vs Ravens (6 targets, 5 catches, 70 yards receiving)
4. 91 total yards vs Patriots (3 targets, 3 catches, 27 yards receiving)

The interesting thing about his numbers is that they’ve been pretty impressive and that’s with him not being used in the way that many of us envisioned. He was a 1,400+ yard rusher and had 450+ receiving yards during his final year at LSU, so if the Chiefs can get him to those numbers, you just know this offense is going to be unstoppable.

Looking at Edwards-Helaire’s targets is also interesting. He had his best game receiving wise against the Ravens and look at how that game went for the offense. Getting the ball to CEH in as many ways as possible is key for the Kansas City Chiefs moving forward.

It’ll take time for CEH to get up to snuff, but his first four games have shown that he’s been worth the first round pick for sure.