Football is officially back. The NFL season opener was an intriguing matchup as the Kansas City Chiefs faced the Houston Texans. The clash featured two young marquee quarterbacks. Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs is fresh off a Super Bowl victory. After cashing an enormous size check, he’s ready to make a run for back to back titles. Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans is an extremely talented quarterback. He is determined to duplicate the success of his counterpart.
Even though the contest featured two of the best quarterbacks in the league, a rookie running back would fly under the radar and steal the spotlight.
This past college football season, Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a significant contributor to the LSU Tigers perfect 15-0 season. The 5 foot 7 running back provided instant offense for the Bayou Bengals. He was lethal as a running back and equally dangerous as a receiver coming out of the backfield.
On the season, Edwards-Helaire rushed for 1,414 yards and 16 touchdowns. He caught 55 passes for 453 yards and a touchdown. LSU’s perfect season was capped off with a National Championship victory versus the Clemson Tigers.
At the end of the season, Clyde Edwards-Helaire announced he would forego his final year of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2020 NFL Draft. With the 32nd overall pick in round one of the NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs drafted the versatile running back.
The Chiefs’ starting running back from last year, Damien Williams, elected to opt-out and not play this season due to concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic. This gave Clyde Edwards-Helaire the opportunity to secure the starting role. On Thursday night, Edwards-Helaire showed a national audience that he is the Chiefs’ newest weapon. The rookie running back rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown on 25 attempts. Kansas City would go on to defeat the Houston Texans by a score of 34-20. Edwards-Helaire was able to adapt to the flow of the game and set the tone. “I had a lot of emotions on that first carry, but after I got tackled, it was football, and it was time to roll,” Edwards-Helaire stated. Even though he had an impressive debut, Edwards-Helaire is well aware of the fact that it was just one game. He knows every week is an opportunity to learn and sharpen his skills. “I’m going to go home, look at the film, literally go through every play, write some things down, shoot a couple text to Deland (McCullough) and other than that, prepare for next weekend,” Edwards-Helaire stated.
With the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs were already favored to repeat as Super Bowl Champions. The addition of Clyde Edwards-Helaire gives the Chiefs another dangerous weapon and a greater chance of winning back to back titles. Now, as a team, they can execute their fast-break style air it out offense, or use Edwards-Helaire to be more efficient and control the tempo of the game.
