Kansas City Conundrum: Abandoning the Run and CEH?

At 8-1 heading into their bye week, you would think the Chiefs have nothing to worry about in 2020. You might be wrong. Despite their offense once again being near the top in the NFL, their running game is near the bottom. This could be a fatal flaw come playoff time.

A big key to this, not just with the Chiefs but others as well, is the rookie class of running back has not lived up to the billing. Cam Akers has been injured and unremarkable. Jonathan Taylor has been ineffective and is trending downward in the past month. This includes being benched last week after a first-half fumble led to a defensive TD for the Ravens. The only two rookies making strides are Antonio Gibson and Zack Moss. Both were mid-round picks who are truly part of a committee.

When it comes to the Chiefs and first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire, they tried him as a bell cow. It did not work well. They went out and got Le’Veon Bell to help. It has not worked. So, what do we do now? Let us try to find out together.

Challenged Chiefs

After winning the Super Bowl and signing Patrick Mahomes to the richest contract of all-time, the Kansas City Chiefs seemed on top of the world. Not only did they have the best QB in the NFL wrapped up for a decade, but they also had a top-five receiver in Tyrek Hill and the best tight end in the NFL in Travis Kelce. The only thing seemingly missing was a running back. After drafting Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the first-round in the draft, this also seemed to be settled.

In a Week 1 matchup against the Houston Texans, CEH rattled off 138 rush yards on 25 carries with one TD. It was clear to everyone the Chiefs were again off to the races. But then it happened. Well actually, it did not happen. CEH did not continue his stampede of the league and the run game never developed.

Over the next eight games, CEH only amassed an additional 101 rushes and 448 rush yards with only one more TD. Coming out of college, CEH was considered the best pass-catching back in the draft. After having 92 catches for over 1,000 yards his final season at LSU, the hope was this would continue. Through nine games this season, he has only 28 receptions on 43 targets and a total of 224 receiving yards. He is not getting the usage in the pass game or in the run game we expected when Damien Williams opted out and he was anointed the full-time starter.

It has gotten so bad, the team has even turned to bringing in Le'Veon Bell to help out. Something which not only frustrated his fantasy managers but also CEH I am sure. Sadly though, much like LeSean McCoy last season, it did nothing to help the run game. In fact, despite having two highly-talented running backs, the team seems to have abandoned the run since acquiring Bell and it has tanked Edwards-Helaire's value. Aside from three big games early in the year, he's done close to nothing since Bell arrived.

image taken from RotoViz

It's not as if Bell has been usurping his role either. Bell has had no value, even in a "revenge game" against the Jets. Since Week 7, when Bell arrived, CEH is just not getting used as much.

What to Do?

One thing is clear at this point. CEH is not the fantasy RB1 we had hoped for when drafting him in the first round. Luckily, he is not injured and therefore has remained in the RB2 range despite big fluctuations in production.

In a season full of attrition in the NFL due to injury and COVID, he is still immensely valuable, just in a different way we expected. Do not think you are going to get a breakout from him late in the season. The 46 rushes the Chiefs had against the Raiders will likely never repeat. Bell's presence puts a cap on his overall usage. But as a running back getting you 12.5 carries a game and 4.4 yards per carry, he is still every-week start, just in the RB2 slot. Let's hope he starts scoring more touchdowns. I mean, he is on the Chiefs! We can do better than three, right?

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