Chiefs RB Super Bowl practice could be a hint at his future with the team
The Kansas City Chiefs' former first-round pick did some things in practice for the Super Bowl that could foreshadow what his new role will be on the offense.Clyde Edwards-Helaire was drafted in the first round for a reason. The Chiefs rarely miss on draft picks; that's just not who they are. They are a team […]
The Kansas City Chiefs' former first-round pick did some things in practice for the Super Bowl that could foreshadow what his new role will be on the offense.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire was drafted in the first round for a reason. The Chiefs rarely miss on draft picks; that's just not who they are. They are a team that scouts well and drafts extremely well every day of the draft. So, I doubt they are giving up on CEH anytime soon just because they have a new running back in Isiah Pacheco.
But let's face it – Pacheco is better, and Deneric Prince, the undrafted free-agent running back, is also getting a lot of love. The coaching staff keeps raving over his abilities. That leaves CEH as the odd man out in the running back room. That means the Chiefs can find other uses for him.
During the week of the Super Bowl, they sure did.
"I practiced that week, the whole week," Edwards-Helaire told reporters. "I played receiver that week; I played the 'Z' and the 'Zebra.' Pretty much played every position, with the exception of quarterback and offensive line, throughout practicing through that week. In my mind, I was kind of thinking that — I got activated Tuesday or Wednesday of that week — initially, it was just going out there, and I didn't think I was playing."
CEH missed a lot of time before that week. He was hurt in Week 10 and didn't play a single game afterward. That's where Pacheco came in and stole his job because if both are 100% healthy, it's now Pacheco's starting job to lose.
Edwards-Helaire was trending towards being healthy in time for the big one. But things didn't work out that way.
"[Then] started practicing, and coach kind of told me, 'Figure some things out as far as, if you know the playbook, [you're] the only guy I would trust to go out there. You know the playbook, so in order to keep everything going smoothly for the biggest game of the year, why not go out there and play receiver and keep everything rolling if you're doing that for us on offense.' I also did scout team; I was DeVonta Smith for the scout team for the defense. I did everything that I needed to do in order for us to win that game. That's just what it was: they called my number, and I was out there."
Sure, it's just a scout team, and teams do this kind of thing all the time, but at the same time, CEH is a guy that can really do those things. Could this foreshadow a potential position change for CEH?
The Chiefs had a receiver issue in the offseason. They have a running back who is good at receiving and could be better at running. CEH knows the playbook, played the role of Smith, and has everything else you need to play the position the Chiefs would have him play.
CEH could easily be a guy the Chiefs throw in the slot every now and then. I'm not saying this is what happens, but let's wait for Training camp and see if CEH ever goes out there with the ones as a receiver.
He could have just snitched on himself and foreshadowed a potential role change.
Featured Image Via Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
