The Kansas City Chiefs have skipped the professional comparisons with Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Instead, they’re already claiming that he’s better than a player in the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame.
During a conference call following the conclusion of the first round of the NFL Draft, Chiefs GM Brett Veach spoke on how the team came to a decision on selecting Edwards-Helaire. A lot of the decision had to do with something that Andy Reid told him. Reid said to Veach that he thought Edwards-Helaire was better than RB Brian Westbrook, who Reid coached from 2002-2009 with the Eagles.
Westbrook was a two-time Pro Bowler and a one-time All-Pro. He was known for his versatility, being a great pass-catcher and a talented rusher during the course of his career.
“I remember talking to coach [Andy Reid],” Veach began. “I reminded him of how much he reminded me of Brian Westbrook. Coach called back and after a few conversations he had mentioned that he thought [Clyde Edwards-Helaire] was better than Brian.”
At the end of the day, Veach says the Chiefs wanted to make sure they came away with a big-time player. Whether or not Edwards-Helaire lives up to the standard of being better than Westbrook remains to be seen. In this case, we just have to defer to Reid, who worked with and coached that player first-hand.
“It’s hard to pass up those guys, for the sake of extra picks or a guy that you think is good,” Veach said. “We think this guy can be great.”
