Clyde Edwards-Helaire

BIOGRAPHY

Clyde Edwards-Helaire was born on April 11, 1999 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is a running back in the NFL.

Edwards-Helaire was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and grew up with future high school and LSU teammate Derrius Guice. He attended Catholic High School and became the first freshman in then head coach Dale Weiner's 29 year tenure to play on the varsity football team as a freshman. In addition to football, Edwards-Helaire also competed in track & field. As a senior, Edwards-Helaire rushed 58 times for 496 yards and 10 touchdowns and was named the MVP of the 5A State Championship Game after catching eight passes for 161 yards and rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown in the Bears 31–28 over Archbishop Rummel High School. Rated a four-star recruit, Edwards-Helaire committed to play college football at Louisiana State University.

As a true freshman, Edwards-Helaire played in all 13 of the Tigers' games, playing mostly on special teams and rushing nine times for 31 yards.[4] As a sophomore, Edwards-Helaire finished second on the team with 658 rushing yards and seven touchdowns with 11 receptions for 96 yards and also returned 17 kicks for 416 yards.[5] He recorded his first 100-yard game in a 38–21 win over Louisiana Tech, gaining 136 yards with two touchdowns on 20 carries.[6] Edwards-Helaire rushed for 145 yards in LSU's 36–16 victory over second-ranked Georgia.[7]

Edwards-Helaire was named LSU's starting running back and on the watchlists for the Maxwell and Paul Hornung Awards going into his junior season. He played a major role in LSU's win over third-ranked Alabama, rushing for 103 yards and three touchdowns and catching nine passes for 77 yards and a touchdown in the 46–41 victory and was named the SEC co-Offensive Player of the Week along with LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. Edwards-Helaire finished the regular season with 1,414 rushing yards (Third most in a single season in school history) and 16 touchdowns on 215 carries, 453 receiving yards and a touchdown on 55 receptions and returned 16 kicks for 214 yards and was a consensus first team All-SEC selection at running back and was named second team by the league's coaches as an all-purpose performer and was also the only SEC running back to be named a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award. After playing sparingly against Oklahoma in the 2019 Peach Bowl due to a hamstring injury, Edwards-Helaire rushed 16 times for 110 yards and caught five passes for 54 yards in LSU's 42–25 win over Clemson in the 2020 National Championship Game. Following the end of the season, Edwards-Helaire announced that he would forgo his senior season to enter the 2020 NFL Draft.

Edwards-Helaire was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs, in the first round with the 32nd overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Edwards-Helaire made his debut for the Chiefs in Week 1 as the starting running back after Damien Williams opted out of the 2020 season. In his first career start as he rushed for 138 yards and scored a rushing touchdown in the 34–20 victory over the Houston Texans. He became the youngest player in NFL history to rush for at least 130 yards and a touchdown in his NFL debut. In Week 6, against the Buffalo Bills, he rushed for 161 rushing yards in the 26–17 victory. In Week 11 against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday Night Football, Edwards-Helaire rushed for two touchdowns during the 35–31 win. On Week 15 against the New Orleans Saints, Edwards-Helaire suffered a hip and ankle injury, making him unavailable for the remainder of the 2020 NFL regular season. Overall, he finished his rookie season with 181 carries for 803 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to go along with 36 receptions for 297 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

In the AFC Championship against the Buffalo Bills, Edwards-Helaire rushed six times for seven yards and a touchdown during the 38–24 win. In Super Bowl LV against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Edwards-Helaire rushed nine times for 64 yards and recorded two catches for 23 yards during the 31–9 loss.