Arrowheadlines: Analysts approve of the Chiefs picking Clyde Edwards-Helaire

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2020 NFL draft: Round 1 instant grades | Yahoo Sports

32) Kansas City Chiefs: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, LSU — The highest-drafted RB in Andy Reid’s career goes from a the most explosive offense in college football to the most explosive offense in the NFL. Edwards-Helaire is a compactly built powder keg of a back, and an immediate contributor. This pick is a home run. Grade: A-.

Instant grades for all 32 picks in the 1st round of the 2020 NFL Draft | SB Nation

32. Kansas City Chiefs: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, LSU

This is another tremendous team fit. There was plenty of speculation leading up to the draft that the Chiefs could be a team that takes a running back in the first round. Edwards-Helaire is an excellent runner who stays low to the ground. But his real value at the position is as a receiver. He’s going to catch a ton of passes in Kansas City’s offense. The only issue is the positional value of a running back in the first round.

Grade: B

The 2020 NFL Draft First-Round Grades | The Ringer

32. Kansas City Chiefs: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, LSU

Edwards-Helaire sneaked into the first round and became the first running back off the board. The former LSU star is a perfect fit for the Chiefs’ high-octane offense, an incredibly elusive runner who employs jump cuts and whirling-dervish spin moves that fake would-be tacklers out of their jocks. He’s one of the best pass-catching backs in this draft, adds return value, and was incredibly reliable with the ball, fumbling just twice on 439 college touches. I’m not a big believer in taking a running back in the first round―I just don’t love that value―but the things that Edwards-Helaire can do in the passing game help mitigate that concern. He should be an early-impact playmaker and provide a boost to what’s already one of the best offenses in the NFL. I’ve compared him to Maurice Jones-Drew in my draft guide, but this team-and-coach pairing wants me to change that pick to Brian Westbrook.

Grade: B+

2020 NFL Draft grades: Analyzing every AFC team’s first-round pick | NBC Sports

Kansas City Chiefs

Picks made: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (No. 32)

Grade: C

Analysis: The Chiefs had multiple injuries at running back last season, and they added some nice depth to the position by selecting of LSU star Clyde Edwards-Helaire. He was one of the best pass-catching running backs in college football last season with 55 receptions for 453 yards. The Chiefs probably could’ve selected another comparable running back on Day 2 of the draft and addressed a more pressing need in Round 1, but this isn’t a horrible pick.

2020 NFL Draft: Bucky Brooks’ pick-by-pick analysis for Round 1 | NFL.com

32) Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

The LSU star is a pass-catching RB with soft hands and excellent route-running skills. He is one of the best pass catchers we’ve seen in recent drafts while also showing a tough, hard-nosed game that enables him to stay on the field as a three-down running back

Boom or bust? Why first-round picks will/won’t succeed | YardBarker

NO. 32 | CHIEFS: LSU RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire

BOOM: This is a pick most franchises would not be able to make, but a Chiefs team devoid of many immediate needs landed its Kareem Hunt replacement. Damien Williams is attached to a team-friendly contract, but with it running only through 2020, that will place Edwards-Helaire in position to take over soon. The 5-foot-7, 207-pound tackle-shedding (and -eluding) extraordinaire only has only 476 college touches – 55 of those on receptions last season – and at the very least becomes a snazzy outlet option in a lethal offense.

Round 1, No. 32 overall: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, LSU | ESPN

What’s next: The Chiefs filled in immediate roster needs during free agency, but looking to 2021, they could have a shortage at wide receiver, where Watkins and Demarcus Robinson are scheduled to be free agents, and cornerback, where Bashaud Breeland is headed into the final season of his contract. That makes a receiver like Baylor’s Denzel Mims or a corner like Utah’s Jaylon Johnson players to watch for the Chiefs if they’re still available late in the second round.

2020 NFL Mock Draft: Rounds 2 and 3 | SI

63. Kansas City Chiefs: Bryce Hall, CB, Virginia While the Chiefs re-signed Bashaud Breeland to a one-year deal, several of the team’s corners left via free agency. Hall is a physical corner with outstanding size, length and ball skills.

The Honey Badger was rallying the troops after the rest of the AFC West went all offense early | Twitter

Patrick Mahomes wasn’t happy about the lack of trade action early on | Twitter

But he was excited to have a new weapon in town | Twitter

Around the NFL

2020 NFL Draft Round 1 winners and losers: Dolphins land the right QB, Packers shock the world and more | CBS Sports

Winner: Raiders

The Raiders stayed true to their brand by selecting receiver Henry Ruggs III, the fastest player in the NFL Draft. The addition of Ruggs should significantly improve a Raiders offense that already includes Josh Jacobs, Tyrell Williams, Hunter Renfrow, Trent Brown, Rodney Hudson, Darren Waller, and Derek Carr.

Las Vegas then acquired Damon Arnette, a talented cornerback whose draft stock continued to climb in the days leading up to the draft. Arnette, despite playing with a broken wrist last season, earned All-Big-10 honors during his senior season. He also did not allow more than one touchdown in each of his four seasons with the Buckeyes, according to the Raiders’ team website. While many saw the selection as a reach at No. 19, the reality is that he would have been long gone by the team’s next selection in the third round, so if they couldn’t find a worthwhile trade to move down, the play is to take the guy you like rather than listen to the masses.

Breaking down the Bengals selecting Joe Burrow with the first pick | Cincy Jungle (Cincinnati Bengals SB Nation site)

What Burrow brings to the Bengals

Let’s not get cute here. Burrow is one of the most accurate quarterbacks to enter the NFL in a long time. It shows up on the stat sheet as much as its obvious to see on the field. He’s a technician in the pocket and a scholar when scanning the field. His level of decision-making, the synchronization he has between his footwork and shoulders, and his ability to create and make plays out of structure are all top-notch.

Beyond all of that, he is a true leader at the position. His level of preparation, competitive toughness, and overall demeanor is on par with the likes of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. It’s insane that those two are even being mentioned when discussing Burrow, but it’s hard to argue against it.

Chargers select Justin Herbert with 6th pick | Bolts from the blue (Los Angeles Chargers SB Nation site)

After each team in the top-5 decided to stay put, the Bolts wind up drafting the former Oregon signal-caller following the Dolphins’ selection of Tua Tagovailoa. Herbert is a 6’6, 237-pound passer with a cannon arm and elite intelligence after winning the William V. Campbell Trophy, also known as the “Academic Heisman.” As a senior in 2019, Herbert threw for 3,471 yards with 32 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He capped off a stellar career in Eugene with a Pac-12 Championship and a victory in the 2020 Rose Bowl over Wisconsin.

After all the anticipation leading up to this draft, and whether the Chargers would select a quarterback after Tyrod Taylor was given the stamp of approval by the team’s brass, they ultimately pulled the trigger for the heir to Philip Rivers.

Internet outage gives Broncos’ Vic Fangio brief scare before draft | ESPN

“About five minutes before the draft started everything went out in my house,’’ Fangio said after Thursday’s first round was completed. “Not the power, all the internet, my TV wasn’t working, everything froze up.’’

Green Bay Packers trade up to select QB Jordan Love with 26th pick of NFL draft | ESPN

No, general manager Brian Gutekunst didn’t tell Rodgers he was going to do it. And no, Love doesn’t know how Rodgers will react.

“I haven’t connected with Aaron yet, but he’s obviously been through this and he’s a pro,” Gutekunst said. “I think it’s certainly, this is something that is a long-term decision. I think when you go through kind of the way things went tonight, you run the short term and the long term. The way the board fell, this was the best decision for the Packers. I think obviously Aaron’s been around for a long time, and he knows what we’re playing for right now, and that’s what’s most important right now.”

2020 NFL Draft Day 1 winners, losers: Miami up, Rodgers down | NFL.com

Drew Lock and John Elway: Building on what’s already been a strong offseason, Elway snapped up Alabama receiver Jerry Jeudy without having to move up from No. 15 overall. My favorite receiver in this draft, Jeudy has footwork that pops off the screen. He can line up anywhere, in any offense, with an ability to get open that is reminiscent of Antonio Brown. Pairing Jeudy with a bonafide No. 1 receiver in Courtland Sutton should make the Broncos awfully difficult to cover and will help quarterback Drew Lock’s chances to make a second-year jump. It feels like the Vance Joseph era happened a long time ago.

SEC smashes record for most NFL draft picks in 1st round | The Telegraph

The football powerhouse had 15 players selected Thursday, smashing the previous mark of 12 set by the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2006 and matched twice by the SEC (2013, 2017).

In case you missed it at Arrowhead Pride

Clyde Edwards-Helaire just made the Chiefs offense even scarier

Veach explained that he and the personnel staff work all year to narrow the prospects down to a final list, which they share with Reid toward the end of the process for guidance.

“I give Coach a couple guys to take a peek on,” said Veach. “I told Coach, ‘Wait until you finish up your work on Clyde Edwards-Helaire. He’s going to remind you of Brian Westbrook.’ Coach called me back and said, ‘He’s better than Brian.’”

Yes, that Brian — the one who played for Reid for eight seasons in Philadelphia and started 90 games during a nine-year career, accumulating more than 10,000 yards from scrimmage in the process.

Westbrook could run the football, but his passing numbers were just as good — he had a stretch in his career where he caught more than 60 passes four seasons in a row. Between Kareem Hunt and more recently, Damien Williams, Reid has demonstrated in Kansas City that he favors a running back who can do both.

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