Advice Prepares Clyde Edwards-Helaire For National Spotlight Against Texans
Whenever the Kansas City Chiefs’ first offensive drive arrives against the Houston Texans on Thursday night, the national spotlight will be on rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Edwards-Helaire has been in a prime-time situation before. In January, he helped LSU to the program’s fourth national title. Three months later, he became first running back to be drafted in 2020.
By late July, Edwards-Helaire was the Chiefs' presumed No. 1 running back after Damien Williams chose to opt out of the 2020 season. Edwards-Helaire embraced the opportunity and is set to make his NFL debut with the Chiefs' first-team offense.
“It’s literally going to mean the world,” Edwards-Helaire told members of the media on Tuesday, thinking ahead to his debut. "Everyone who has had their hand in the Clyde pot – which has not been a lot growing up – just being from Baton Rouge and understanding the circumstance of coming out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For me, it’s going to be important, but (also) for the people that are around me that have supported me the most and ultimately, got me through the hardships of growing up where I grew up at. Ultimately, I’m doing it for them.”
Edwards-Helaire will attempt to prove his worth in front of 17,000 fans at Arrowhead Stadium come Thursday.
The expected crowd is nothing compared to the 76,885 fans in attendance at his final collegiate game, 102,321 fans at Tiger Stadium, or the 76,416 he’d see at Arrowhead in a non-pandemic world.
The skill and pace of the game itself won’t reflect what he saw in his last collegiate game, either. The rookie hasn’t had the chance to visualize the opportunity quite yet, but has an idea of where his emotions will be.
“Ultimately on my first snap I’m going to be nervous,” Edwards-Helaire said. “That’s just what it is. That goes to show that I’m a human and this is my first NFL game. I really don’t know what to expect. Twenty-two percent of the fans are going to be there, so it’s not going to be a full stadium. Everything is kind of up in the air for everybody. Ultimately, my job is to put my helmet on and whenever they call a play, do my job.”
With the lack of preseason games, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy recognizes Edwards-Helaire could have a slow start against the Texans.
Three years ago, he witnessed Kareem Hunt fumble on his first career carry. Hunt went on to record three touchdowns, 148 rushing yards and 98 receiving yards.
While Edwards-Helaire said Bieniemy hasn’t specifically mentioned Hunt’s fumble in thier conversations, he’s offered Edwards-Helaire advice on what to expect when the Chiefs begin their first offensive possession of the 2020 season
“The biggest thing, like I told him, I know the hardest thing will probably be that first drive,” Bieniemy said. “His emotions are going to be high, he’s going to be hyperventilating and he’s just going to be so excited about being out there. But once he gets tackled the first time, you know what, it’s all football. He’s lining up in between the hashes, he’s doing what he does best. That’s why we drafted him.”
Bieniemy’s advice isn’t the only input Edwards-Helaire has gained this offseason. Edwards-Helaire said quarterback Patrick Mahomes, fellow running backs Darrel Williams and Darwin Thompson, fullback Anthony Sherman, defensive end Frank Clark, defensive tackle Chris Jones and safety Tyrann Mathieu and many more have all helped lead him through his first preseason as a professional.
"If I told you all the advice I'd been given, we'd be sitting here all day," Edwards-Helaire said.
Edwards-Helaire said he's taken each piece of advice in and hopes it shows as he works towards debuting on primetime television.
“I mean, anything that I can get from everybody else that’s pretty much going to get to me or can see the things that I’m doing, tendencies or anything, I try to get those outside perspectives so I can kind of mold my game into different little nuances and have people second-guess all of the things that I do."
