10 reasons for Kansas City Chiefs fans to be excited about 2021 season
By Ethan Lee
No. 4: Clyde Edwards-Helaire has already demonstrated he can be a star that compliments Patrick Mahomes. Expect more great things from him this year.
While running backs aren’t generally valued as much in today’s NFL as they have been in previous years and eras, it never hurts to have a really good running back on your roster. That’s especially true for a team looking to contend for a Super Bowl. Luckily for the Kansas City Chiefs, that’s exactly what they’ve got in Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Edwards-Helaire has only been in the NFL for one season, his rookie year, but he’s already shown he can do some damage in this exciting Chiefs’ offense. Through 13 regular season games, Edwards-Helaire ran for 803 yards and four touchdowns.
But beyond just being a talented runner, Edwards-Helaire has proven to be versatile and capable of helping Kansas City’s offense in a couple of different ways. Most notably, Edwards-Helaire is a dangerous receiving threat out of the backfield, which is great to have alongside a talented quarterback like Patrick Mahomes.
Edwards-Helaire caught 36 passes in the 2020 regular season for a total of 297 yards and another touchdown.
Of course, it’s worth noting that having another talented receiving option can help guys like tight end Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill get open.
As defenses have to worry about Edwards-Helaire catching passes, they’re forced to stop focusing so intently on Kelce and Hill, which could conceivably give both of them more opportunities in relatively weaker coverage.