Fantasy football players love drafting rookie running backs. It’s a mix of an infatuation with a new shiny toy and the ego of a fantasy player getting the rights to be the first one to say “called it” when talking trash to their league opponents. Add in the fact running backs in Andy Reid’s offensive scheme always produce high-end fantasy football points and they were the only team to select a rusher in the first round of the draft, it should come as no surprise to see Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s Average Draft Position skyrocket to the early third round.

But at what point does the value of drafting Edwards-Helaire disappear? That’s the question we asked Sports Illustrated’s fantasy football analysts Ben Heisler and ArrowheadReport’s Joshua Brisco.

Watch the attached video for their analysis and read the transcript from their conversation:

Bill Enright: Clyde Edwards-Helaire was the only running back selected in the first round of this year's NFL draft. Combine that with the fact that fantasy football players love drafting rookie running backs. Combine it with the fact that the Chiefs have the best offense in the league. Clyde Edwards-Helaire is climbing up draft boards at a rapid pace. Let's bring on SI fantasy analyst Ben Heisler, and Joshua Brisco, who covers the Chiefs. Josh, I'm going to start with you. What kind of role do you see right out of the gate for Edwards-Helaire? Do you think it's going to be maybe a split backfield with Damien Williams or can he be the starter from the get go?

Joshua Brisco: Yeah, I really think they're going to end up splitting that role a little bit. It's really, really hard to be a rookie skill position player in Andy Reid's offense. You might think about Kareem Hunt. Rightly so. He had a huge role his rookie year. But that was after Spencer Ware got hurt. Kareem Hunt was not supposed to be the guy from the jump there. And I don't really expect Clyde Edwards-Helaire to be the guy day one either. I think he'll get plenty of touches. But where he's going right now in fantasy, I'm not going to end up with him on any of my teams. I do think Damien Williams is going to get a hefty chunk of work.

Bill Enright: I kind of agree with you there. I mean, Damien Williams certainly played well in the playoffs, and when he was healthy in 2019, he did perform at an admirable rate. But again, Edwards-Helaire climbing up draft boards right now. Ben, I'm going to go to you for this one, he's being taken off the board as the twenty eighth overall player in a PPR league. Are you buying or selling at that price?

Ben Heisler: Look at the three of us being the collective sad trombone for fantasy owners everywhere. Here's the thing about it. I think the talent is there. And certainly when it comes to first round running backs for Andy Reid, he's never taken one before as 22 years as a coach. This is the first guy to go off the board. We've heard about the Brian Westbrook and the LeSean McCoy comparison. So it's understandable to get excited about what he can do. But I agree with you guys. I think Damien Williams, especially down the stretch of last year, proved his worth in that offense. You know, he's good in pass blocking. You know that he's so good on that wheel route that they like to use, especially in the screen game, he's terrific. And that's a big part of Andy Reid's offense. So I know that there is a lot of excitement right now for Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and I think at some point his day will come. I just don't think his day is going to be at the start of 2020. So I am passing on his average draft position, at least as the RB14 in the early third round coming off the board. 

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