The 2020 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. Here is the Clyde Edwards-Helaire 2020 NFL Draft profile.

Background

Position: Running Back

Size: 5-foot-7, 207 pounds

Class: Junior

2019 stats: 1,414 rushing yards, 16 rushing touchdowns, 55 receptions, 453 receiving yards, 1 touchdown catch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzYVJhrwjzM

Edwards-Helaire entered LSU as a four or three-star recruit depending on the website rating him. It took a while for him to reach his full potential, but now he is one of the best running backs in the 2020 NFL Draft class.

As a freshman in 2017, Edwards-Helaire saw time on special teams mostly, but did have nine carries for 31 yards. The Tigers won nine games that season, but lost in the Citrus Bowl. His role increased in 2018, as Edwards-Helaire had 658 rushing yards, 96 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. LSU won 10 games, including a victory over UCF in the Fiesta Bowl. The 2019 season was great for LSU and Edwards-Helaire. Ed Orgeron’s team won the National Championship after going 15-0. Edwards-Helaire did his part with 1,414 rushing yards, 453 receiving yards and 17 total touchdowns.

After helping LSU win the National Championship, Edwards-Helaire decided to declare for the NFL Draft. He could be selected as early as the end of the first round or could be selected on day two of the NFL Draft.

Strengths

Edwards-Helaire will be able to stay on the field for all three downs for an offense because of his ability as a receiver. He runs good routes and runs more routes than most other running backs in the class. His ability to separate and get open is among the best in the class for running backs as well. Once open, Edwards-Helaire has good hands and great run after the catch ability.

His agility and ability to make people miss is the best in the class. Edwards-Helaire is so slippery and hard to tackle. He moves quickly and can wiggle out of danger. When plays look blown up at the line of scrimmage, he can make defenders miss and pick up positive yards. In the open field, he can put the moves on people, as he has a great spin move.

He has great vision. That starts at the line of scrimmage where he can find the hole well. In plays where things go wrong, he is able to find a spot to run to keep the damage to a minimum. When he breaks free of the line of scrimmage, he has amazing vision that he uses well to break big plays. He uses his eyes and smarts to know where to run for maximum output on a play.

Weakness

His long speed is not one of his assets. Edwards-Helaire has below-average speed, which allows defenders to catch up with him down the field. This showed up on his 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, in which he ran a 4.6, but his lack of long speed also shows up on tape.

While he is well-built, Edwards-Helaire is a smaller running back at just 5-foot-7 and 207 pounds. This can be an asset, as people will have a hard time finding him behind the line of scrimmage, but it can also be a weakness. He lacks elite strength at the position, which makes it harder for him to break tackles and pass protect. Edwards-Heliare is a great receiving back, but he also has a limited catch radius due to his size.

At LSU this season, the field was wide open in ther new offense. In the NFL, the field won’t be as wide-open, so he will have to make do with that. He was decent at LSU before the new offense was installed, but he was far from a potential early-round pick.

Projected Draft Range: First Round Pick-Third Round Pick

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