Is Jerick McKinnon real or a mirage?
Yahoo Sports' Scott Pianowski and Andy Behrens discuss how important the Kansas City RB has been this year, including why the Chiefs should have drafted Jonathan Taylor over Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Video Transcript
ANDY BEHRENS: The other thing I want to ask you about the Chiefs is whether you think this Jerick McKinnon thing has been a mirage or if that's real. Because he is-- I believe he's a free agent, right? All of a sudden, it sure would be nice to see Jerick McKinnon back in a Chiefs uniform, I think. I don't know that they need-- as much hand-wringing as you go through over N'Keal Harry, I'm sure that Chiefs fans go through it on the Jonathan Taylor, Clyde Edwards-Helaire decision, right?
I mean, Edwards-Helaire is fine, but he's not-- I mean, he's obviously not that guy, right? And he's not of the caliber of running back that you would expect from a first-round pick. Jerick McKinnon's looked really good. And they were-- man, they were running him. He's a little guy, and they were running him between the tackles, and he looked fine. He had some north-south to him, and he looked great.
And maybe it's a function of maybe Jerick McKinnon can never be a 25 touch a game guy. The Chiefs haven't necessarily used him that Way. But they used him perfectly over the last month or so, and he was brilliant. So I kind of hope he's back.
SCOTT PIANOWSKI: Yeah, I'm torn on this one. It was fun to watch him play well and see him get a role. He's stepping into an age 30 season. He's missed so much time with injury, so I guess you can spin this one of two ways. You look at his career and say, well, there's not a of mileage on the body. He hasn't taken that many hits.
He's never had more than 160 carries in a season, but it's because he's had so many major blowouts that you wonder-- whenever a running back gets to that age, I think he has to be seen as a secondary option. I see no reason against bringing him back on a friendly contract where he's one of your depth players. But I think you need to shoot for a higher upside.
And it's funny you mentioned CEH and Taylor. Even though they should be linked together, for whatever reason, I've never really thought of them together. But I've always thought, man, CEH was the wrong guy for the Chiefs. But, man, what if they had Taylor or even like a healthy DeAndre Swift, who I think right now looks like he has a better career ahead than Edwards-Helaire.
We all thought-- I mean, remember the way Edwards-Helaire's rookie year went, right? I mean, he basically had the starting job. Williams opts out. Edwards-Helaire is gonna be in the pilot chair of this offense that looks unstoppable. He was a first-round pick before he ever played a snap in the NFL, and he's done nothing to justify it. Not that he's a bad player, but I think it's just gonna go down as a swing and a miss for Kansas City. And it's just scary to think of what Jonathan Taylor would be like in an Andy Reid offense.
ANDY BEHRENS: Yeah, it would be absolutely unstoppable. And, listen, I didn't hate the pick, right? Because I watch the draft, and I'm rooting for fantasy. So regardless of what a team's needs are, I was like, great, Kansas City has taken somebody who is obviously gonna be a centerpiece runner for that franchise.
And of course that guy is gonna consolidate the stats that went to Damien Williams and some other dudes. And now we're just gonna get a-- he's gonna gain 1,800 scrimmage yards, and he's gonna catch 50 passes. And this is the Chiefs, so it's gonna be 20 touchdowns. And it just like-- that's a short list of guys who can do anything like that, and he's not on it.
SCOTT PIANOWSKI: I think the thought was that he was gonna be more electric as a receiver. I think actually that's more of the disappointing part of his game. They thought he was gonna be maybe like a Tiki Barber type of player where he could catch 70 passes a year and be a constant threat. And we've seen so many teams, so many of the smart teams in the NFL, that's their cheat code, right?
I mean, the Patriots have used it for years. Sean Payton. It's hard to believe he's not on the Saints anymore. But he loved to throw to his backs, and think of how great-- Kamara is just the most recent of those guys. They've had several good pass-catching backs. And so we thought that Edwards-Helaire was gonna catch 70 balls, 65 balls a year, and be electric doing it. And that's what's really surprised me is he's been so ordinary as a receiver.