Will Ronald Jones Take Over as the Chiefs’ Starting Running Back?

Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s availability has become somewhat of a concern over the past two seasons. Can newly acquired Ronald Jones take over as the Chiefs starting running back?

Injury Concern

Former LSU star running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire impressed early on in his career. He was able to add another dimension to this already powerful Kansas City Chiefs offense. However, whenever it feels like Edwards-Helaire is starting to hit a groove he is held back by an injury. In his two seasons in the NFL, he has already missed a total of 12 regular season games.

The main concern is that Edwards-Helaire’s injuries aren’t just one substantial injury that takes time to heal from, but he gets multiple injuries per season. With two NFL seasons under his belt, he has already suffered from two ankle sprains, an inguinal hip sprain, a MCL sprain and a bruised shoulder. With training camp not even underway yet the young running back is already projected to miss three games this season with a 13.2% chance to be injured per game.

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Ronald Jones’ Opportunity

With all of these concerns in mind, the Chief decided to sign Jones in this year’s Free Agency. Jones is coming from Tampa Bay where he has proven that he can be an NFL team’s workhorse back. However, Tampa Bay ultimately chose to stick with Leonard Fournette. During his time with the Buccaneers, Jones impressed with his ability to be a fast, powerful running back who compares to past players like LeGarrette Blount.

This season the Chiefs have a crowded running back room headlined by Edwards-Helaire and Ronald Jones. Edwards-Helaire will be the Chiefs starting running back going into the season but don’t be surprised if an injury can shift the spotlight to Jones. Jones is no stranger to taking over for a starter. Fournette signed with Tampa Bay very early into the 2020 season where he was projected to take over as the starting running back. This plan was changed as Jones had his best season in his career with 978 yards and 7 touchdowns. This is where he proved to the league that he can be a team’s RB1. In the 2021 season, Jones saw a massive decline in carries with 91 fewer carries than he had in 2020.

Prediction

As long as Edwards-Helaire is healthy he will be the starting running back. He was drafted in the first round for a reason. Edwards-Helaire is a very talented back that can be used in multiple ways and fits very well with Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs want to see a return on the draft pick. And as long as he is healthy they will give him every shot they can. However, if Edwards-Helaire suffers from an injury Ronald Jones can be a game changer in this offense. But for now, Jones is one of the best backups until he gets another shot at starting.

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