Grading every Chiefs first-round pick during Brett Veach’s tenure
By Matt Conner
2020: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, LSU
Oh, boy. Of all of the moves on this list, Veach would surely love a mulligan on this pick. However, we should tread lightly here—at least in blame.
Heading into the 2020 NFL Draft, Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a red-hot running back climbing draft boards who was on the verge of potentially being a day-one selection. The Chiefs were looking to bolster an offense that was already the talk of the NFL with Patrick Mahomes throwing to Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in their prime. The loss of Kareem Hunt, however, had taken away a vital cog in the proverbial wheel, and it was clear the Chiefs wanted to add that level of dynamism to the backfield once again.
With Edwards-Helaire on the board, the Chiefs decided to make him the first running back taken in the draft instead of attending to real needs—making a luxury pick with Brett Veach’s first use of a first-round pick. Even Mahomes reportedly signed off on the pick himself, and the immediate response from many analysts was that it felt “unfair” for the Chiefs to have such an abundance of riches.
Three years later, Edwards-Helaire is on the trade block and was a healthy scratch in the postseason after losing his lead-back role to a former seventh-round choice in Isiah Pacheco. Edwards-Helaire doesn’t get enough credit for what he does bring to the table, but that’s the way it goes when you’re a first-round pick and the first RB taken overall—especially in front of Jonathan Taylor.
As for a grade, there’s only one way to go. The Chiefs could have used help at a number of positions and great value picks were right there. The very next two picks were wide receivers like Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman. Imagine how the Chiefs’ offense would look with one of those picks in-house. At safety, Antoine Winfield Jr. went a few picks later and offensive lineman Robert Hunt was also right there for the taking.
The good news is that the Chiefs’ top-tier talent is so good that they can somehow absorb a complete miss in the first round like this one, but Veach definitely made it tougher on himself by whiffing on this pick.
Grade: D