Kansas City Chiefs rookie RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been voted in as the FedEx NFL Ground Player of the Week for Week 1 of the 2020 NFL Season. This is the first of what feels like many future awards that await Edwards-Helaire.
Every week during the course of the NFL season three finalists are chosen for each FedEx NFL Ground and Air Player of the Week. Fans then vote for their choice to win the weekly award.
This week Edwards-Helaire was pit against Raiders RB Josh Jacobs and Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey. Jacobs had 93 yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns. McCaffrey had 96 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns. The two veterans couldn’t edge out the Chiefs’ rookie Edwards-Helaire, who recorded a league-leading 138 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown in his debut.
Edwards-Helare joins a list of several Chiefs running backs who have won this award since its inception in 2003. A list that includes greats like Priest Holmes, Derrick Blaylock, Larry Johnson, and Jamaal Charles. The last player to win the ground award for Kansas City was Kareem Hunt in Week 9 of 2018 against the Cleveland Browns.
Edwards-Helaire is currently taking the league by storm. His Week 1 performance already has oddsmakers favoring him to win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. The Chiefs don’t plan to let up on his usage either. The team wanted to feed him the ball in Week 1, which was a departure from the norm for this offense. So long as it keeps working for Kansas City, Edwards-Helaire will continue having big games for this football team.
