Dave Caban considers the landing spots of the rookie running backs drafted in Rounds 1 through 3 and adjusts his rankings.

The Kansas City Chiefs were the first team to select a running back in the 2020 NFL draft when they reached on Clyde Edwards-Helaire with the last pick of Round 1. Buzz surrounding Edwards-Helaire had been building leading up to the draft but the pick still raised eyebrows while simultaneously invigorating the fantasy community. The former LSU Tiger ranked sixth in my pre-draft rankings and fourth in the RB RSI. While some analysts were quick to cement Edwards-Helaire as the 1.01 in 2020 dynasty drafts, I’m not convinced that it is an open and shut case. Sure, Kansas City might be the easiest location for an RB to flourish and perhaps he’s best positioned to make an immediate impact but writing off the rest of what was a strong class at might not be wise.

Let’s take a minute to contextualize landing spots and then adjust my pre-draft rankings. If you haven’t done so, definitely check out Blair Andrew’s article covering the best landing spots based on vacated expected points.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire: Pick 32 – Kansas City Chiefs

As I mentioned before, there’s no question about it: this is an absolute slam-dunk of a landing spot. The defending Super Bowl Champions ranked second in yards per play, fifth in points, have one of the best quarterback/coach duos in the league, and one of the most talented groups of skill players. Clearly, the team has big plans for Edwards-Helaire and is invested in getting him the ball. But let’s pause for a moment. Are we really sure that Edwards-Helaire is so much better than Damien Williams that he will not have to share duties in his rookie season?

A natural rebuttal to this question would be something like, “Think about how Andy Reid used LeSean McCoy and Brian Westbrook in their primes. He fed those dudes the ball.” That was a different time and Edwards-Helaire probably isn’t a McCoy or a Westbrook. Another counter-argument would be something along the lines of, “Well, the Chiefs took him in Round 1. He’s a Round 1 talent. Therefore, he is a special player.” I’m not sure that I agree with that either. The Round 1 valuation is an undeniably important catalyst in a player’s career trajectory but it doesn’t guarantee that he’s an uber-talented back.

There’s no denying that Edwards-Helaire is a terrific pass catcher. He caught 68 passes in three college seasons. And to be fair, he did rush for 1,414 yards and 16 touchdowns in his final season at LSU. However, that was his only season that jumps off the page and he recorded suboptimal scores in two of the most predictive metrics, speed score and breakaway rush score. His speed score of 92 places him in a range in which the odds are stacked against him. My pre-draft RB rankings illustrate how weak his scores are compared to many of the other 2020 RBs.