KC Chiefs: The mental hurdles in front of Clyde Edwards-Helaire

The Ghost of Kareem

The other ghost haunting Edwards-Helaire before he ever took his first snap or earned his first carry is that of Kareem Hunt.

Consider this: Three seasons before Edwards-Helaire’s own debut, Chiefs Kingdom had already been very excited by a highly-drafted running back who’d made an instant splash with the team and made the offense so dynamic. Kareem Hunt was on the cover of Sports Illustrated after his first game in the NFL—a game in which he had 246 total yards from scrimmage against the New England Patriots in primetime.

Hunt led the NFL in rushing during his rookie season and forced defenses to pay strict attention to a third offensive weapon alongside Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. The Chiefs were loaded with three offensive cogs and Hunt was on pace to eclipse his rookie numbers in his first year with Mahomes as quarterback. (Hunt was averaging 2 yards less per game but far more touchdowns.)

Then, as quickly as he burst on the scene, Hunt was gone. The Chiefs made the right call. Hunt was guilty of disgusting behavior and was foolish in his attempts to cover it all up. There’s nothing else that could have been done in the situation, but it didn’t help Edwards-Helaire just 2 years later to step on the field and have a crowd in red and gold waiting for his own 200-yard breakout performance.