Chiefs Building Offensive Dynasty with Addition of RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire

Earlier this week, I wrote that the rumored acquisition of wide receiver Henry Ruggs III by the Kansas City Chiefs would make an already formidable offense abjectly terrifying.

Well, if that was the plan, Kansas City's AFC West rivals in Las Vegas spoiled it by drafting Ruggs 12th overall. But the Chiefs still scared the crud out of the rest of the AFC in the first round of the 2020 draft on Thursday—without sacrificing any additional selections.

And by spending the final pick of the draft's first day on LSU tailback Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the Chiefs took another step toward establishing one of the most fearsome offensive dynasties in modern NFL history.

Quarterback Joe Burrow was the hero of LSU's run to the national championship in 2019, but the 5'7", 207-pound Edwards-Helaire played a major part as well. It wasn't just the 1,414 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. Or the fact that Edwards-Helaire averaged 6.6 yards per carry. He also set an LSU record for receptions by a running back with 55, chipping in 453 yards and another score on the ground.

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As Trevor Sikkema wrote in his scouting report on Edwards-Helaire at The Draft Network, that ability to hurt teams as both a runner and receiver made him one of the more interesting prospects at the position in the class of 2020:

"When it comes to modern day running backs in the NFL, Clyde Edwards-Helaire fits the mold. Though shorter in stature, Edwards-Helaire is tough to take down both with power and with agility. His mental processing when diagnosing incoming tacklers is very fast, and because of this he has one of the highest broken tackle/missed tackle rates in the entire country. Another positive to Edwards-Helaire's game is his success in the passing game. Edwards-Helaire has very reliable hands, and his controlled feet along with his short area explosiveness allow him to run a variety of different routes where he can create separation like a wide receiver without the ball."

Edwards-Helaire wasn't the biggest back in this year's class. Or the fastest—he ran a 4.6-second 40-yard dash at the combine. But as Brody Miller reported for The Athletic, former teammate Devin White believes that opponents who underestimate Edwards-Helaire based on his measurables do so at their own peril:

"White once said Edwards-Helaire was so hard to tackle because defenders lose sight of him behind the larger bodies. Once a defender actually finds him, White said, two things can happen. One, he can lower his shoulder and run through you, as you're not ready for him, or two, he hits you with his spin move that defenders from Alabama to Texas have fallen victim to. Edwards-Helaire led the SEC in broken tackle percentage, according to Sports Info Solutions."

The Chiefs certainly didn't underestimate him. Even though backs like Georgia's D'Andre Swift (the top-ranked back on Bleacher Report NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller's big board), Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor and Ohio State's J.K. Dobbins were all still available, Kansas City made Edwards-Helaire the first player selected at his position and the only tailback taken on Day 1.

At least one former running back who knows a thing or two about catching the rock out of the backfield loves the fit:

It's more than just a matter of how well Edwards-Helaire's skill set meshes with the Chiefs, although it most assuredly does. Or a matter of his talent—Edwards-Helaire most assuredly is loaded with it.

It's what his arrival means for an offense that was already as good (if not better) than any in the league.

No team in the AFC had a more prolific passing attack in 2019 than the Chiefs, and it's not hard to see why. Over his last two years in the NFL, Patrick Mahomes has thrown 76 touchdown passes, won an MVP award and led the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl win in 50 years. Kansas City's "Legion of Zoom" wide receiver corps of Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Demarcus Robinson and Mecole Hardman is the fastest in the game. Tight end Travis Kelce has topped 1,000 receiving yards each of the past four years.

But Kansas City was 23rd in the league last year in rushing, averaging 98.1 yards per contest. Damien Williams is a capable tailback who averaged 4.5 yards per carry a year ago, but his 111 rushes in 2019 were a career high, and he had over 16 totes in just one game last season.

Not only is Edwards-Helaire every bit as good (or better) of a receiver as Williams, but he also brings a measure of physicality on the ground that Williams can't match. It makes an offense that was already next to impossible to defend that much more imposing. Play your safeties back so the receivers don't destroy you over the top, and Edwards-Helaire will tear up the soft middle of the defense. Cheat the safeties up, and at some point, a long scoring pass becomes inevitable.

And that's without even factoring Kelce into the mix. You can't load the box. You can't play back.

It's a Kobayashi Maru—a no-win situation. With James T. Kirk nowhere to be found.

Of course, this assumes Edwards-Helaire enjoys similar success in the pros to the prosperity he saw last year in Baton Rouge. As Will Brinson of CBS Sports pointed out, if Andy Reid's track record with using early picks on offensive weapons is any indication, he will:

If that's not terrifying enough, consider this: This offense won't be a one-shot deal. The band could be together for a good long while.

Yes, Robinson and Watkins are only under contract through the end of the 2020 season. But Hardman will be in Kansas City through 2022. Kelce is under contract through 2021 (and will likely get an extension before that). Hill won't hit free agency until 2023. And Mahomes' chances of seeing the open market are approximately negative 37 trillion percent. At some point soon, he'll get a megadeal the likes of which the NFL has never seen.

Now Edwards-Helaire has been added to the mix through at least 2023.

That sound you hear is AFC West defensive coordinators sobbing.

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We've seen some bonkers offenses over the past couple of decades. Peyton Manning and the 2013 Denver Broncos hold the record for points scored in a single season, piling up 37.9 per contest. The 16-0 New England Patriots racked up 36.8 points per game in 2007. The 2011 Green Bay Packers averaged an even 35 per game.

But all those were effectively one-time affairs. Not since the "Greatest Show on Turf" Rams teams have we seen an offense capable of threatening the record book year after year.

The 2018 Chiefs already sit third on that list, amassing 35.3 points per game. And that offense wasn't as good on paper as the Chiefs will be with Edwards-Helaire in the fold.

The rich got richer. The buzz saw added that many more teeth.

And the rest of the NFL is in real trouble as a result.

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