Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire writing his own story in career resurgence
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco took over the starting spot for former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire seven games into his rookie season.
“I’m ready to take another grown man’s job,” Pacheco said after he was drafted in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
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He sure did that, and helped lead the Chiefs to a Super Bowl win, rushing for 830 yards and five touchdowns last season.
While Pacheco’s star got brighter and brighter, CEH’s star got dimmer and dimmer.
After collecting over 1,000 yards from scrimmage in his rookie season and over 600 total yards in year two, the LSU product did not play in the last 10 games of the 2022 season, including being a healthy scratch for Super Bowl 57.
Jerick McKinnon was also having a carer year by setting a new franchise record for single-season receiving TDs from a RB.
With those factors, along with the prominent Patrick Mahomes-Travis Kelce-led aerial attack, CEH was simply left out of the offensive game plan during the Super Bowl run.
Before training camp, the Chiefs declined to give him a fifth-year option.
“I really just was able to take a step back and just realize what’s business and the things that I can control,” Edwards-Helaire said Sunday. “
During the 2023 season, Pacheco has kept on going with furious style of running leading the running game with 779 yards and six TDs.
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But a shoulder injury has kept Pacheco out of the last two games, making way for CEH to be the primary back for the first time since October of last season.
His first start came against the Buffalo Bills where he posted a modest 39 yards on the ground on 11 carries and 29 yards receiving.
Edwards-Helaire’s full breakout came on the road against the New England Patriots where he collected 101 yards on 17 touches and a receiving TD.
His 64 yards as a receiver were crucial with the bulk of his yards coming off of a 48-yard screen that helped set up the Chiefs’ first TD of the game.
His six-yard touchdown reception saw his 5’6 frame soar into the air and come down with the ball in the back of the end zone.
After missing an opportunity to catch a pass on the sideline last week against the Bills, Edwards-Helaire told Mahomes to feed him the ball when he’s a receiver.
“I rarely drop passes and it was just one of those things that it was a bitter taste in my mouth,” he said. “So I just told him like, even when I got the opportunity last week, opportunities this week at practice, you throw the ball up bro, I promise I’m gonna come down with it no matter the situation.”
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“It’s just one of those things the NFL. You know, everybody kind of will have their own story.”
Throughout Edward-Helaire’s journey, he kept practicing and training with energy and enthusiasm knowing that he would be ready when he was needed. He even practiced on the scout team last season to help his teammates while waiting for his opportunity.
“I knew once I was able to get my opportunity, showcase the things that I knew I need to showcase,” he said.”
“I go out there, play my game. Never batted an eye, knew at some point the opportunity was gonna show up again and it’s about how you conquer that opportunity and take advantage of it.”
With CEH being the second running back on the depth chart, most would think it’s an automatic call-up to have him be the main back. But he cherishes every opportunity.
“I kind of kept my head down, but always brought the energy when I needed to,” he said. “Always showed up for practice, always did the things whenever my number was called, even if it was just having enthusiasm in meeting rooms. For everybody else, I might have went incognito but if I would have left the team, everybody else would have felt it.”
The Baton Rouge, Louisiana native said he had to make sure his own mentality was good before he got ready to play football. While critics might call him a bust or a failure because he hasn’t reached the usual expectations of a first-round pick, Edwards-Helaire has always lived life to the fullest.
“Everybody has their own way of life and this is a sport. Don’t get me wrong, but I need to make sure my mental on right before I do anything else. So I was able to do a lot of things. I got engaged, I had the whole nine yards.”
“When everybody felt like you know, Clyde might be in the dumps, I was probably on my highest horse. And that’s just one of those things. You take whatever is the light of the situation and you brighten it up and then now it’s just, you know, everybody’s just talking about the opportunity but the opportunity was getting drafted and being able to be in this position. So always had the opportunity but you know, they just kind of marking it up for me.”
His infectious energy is felt by his teammates as well.
“He’s one of the best dudes I think that I’ve ever met,” Mahomes said. “Just the attitude that he comes into the building with. I mean, he’s always got a smile on his face. He’s always making other people smile.
“He comes to work every single day. And I think that’s special about him. That’s why we want him to succeed as much as everybody else and himself.”
“Spectacular performance, I’m always glad to see my guys do well and succeed,” McKinnon said. “He’s been through so much, so much adversity, so for him to go out and perform like that is amazing.”
“He’s been an energy giver,” head coach Andy Reid said on Sunday. “He doesn’t ever complain. He just goes out. If you give him two snaps, he’ll take the two and make it the best he can. If you give him, 30, 40 snaps he’s gonna do great there too.
“Don’t ever question little guys.”
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NFL coaches and players label some players ‘locker room guys’ simply for the positive energy and leadership they provide to the team. Some players may lean more heavily on this trait (intentionally or unintentionally) than others to make up for their underperforming play on the field or to stack on top of their high performance.
With Edwards-Helaire’s limited touches over the past few seasons, it could have looked like the former over the latter for him.
But with his recent performances, he has proved how much he can provide off the field and on the field to a team defending their Super Bowl.
Pacheco is expected to be back at practice soon but CEH has made his mark in just two games.
Don’t write off Edwards-Helaire’s career. Better yet, don’t write about him at all.
“I’m Clyde Edwards-Helaire. I write my own narrative. I write my own story.”
