Re-Grading the Chiefs' Last 5 First-Round Picks

2020 - RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire: D

Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a miss of a draft pick, despite his recent resurgence as a reliable veteran who knows the offense and has Patrick Mahomes' trust. Brett Veach's first-ever first-round draft pick entered the NFL with high expectations after dominating as a pass-catching back out of LSU, but injuries and general ineffectiveness derailed him.

If Edwards-Helaire had been selected in the middle or late rounds and Isiah Pacheco in the first, we'd view this pick differently. Things worked out in the end, but it's hard to ignore the players the Chiefs passed on that would've obviously been better in hindsight.

Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman Jr., D'Andre Swift, and Xavier McKinney went consecutively after Edwards-Helaire, while Jonathan Taylor and Antoine Winfield Jr. followed. All's well that ends well, though sustained excellence means avoiding this kind of miss.

The Chiefs clearly like having Edwards-Helaire as a "break glass in case of emergency" veteran behind Pacheco and he's capable of filling in should Pacheco suffer an injury like he did in 2023.

While the draft capital was a huge overspend, it hasn't come back to hurt Kansas City's Super Bowl chances in the end. Overall, that's what truly matters.