Clyde Edwards-Helaire left last night's Kansas City-Arizona exhibition with an ankle injury. Initial quotes from Andy Reid are that it wasn't the dreaded high-ankle type of sprain, so decent chance Edwards-Helaire is fine for Week 1 (three weeks from tomorrow). But that's not certain.
Edwards-Helaire was a disappointment as a rookie. He finished as the No. 22 PPR back, which isn't terrible, but as the starter in one of the league's best offenses, he was drafted earlier than that in most leagues, and had more disappointing games than really good ones. Now it's fair to wonder if he'll be fully healthy at the start of the season.
If he's limited or out entirely, Kansas City could use a committee of players to replace him. Darrel Williams certainly, and either Jerick McKinnon or Darwin Thompson; those were the guys handling it in the first half against Arizona. (Williams also left last night’s game due to a possible concussion.)
There have been some nice things said up about McKinnon this preseason, and Thompson has been around in the offense for a while, but I think Williams is the guy to roster in fantasy leagues. Not a special talent, but the team trusts him, and he's been effective when given a chance.
The last two seasons, Williams has gotten more than 5 total touches (runs and receptions) 10 times. He scored in half of those games, plus a 2-point conversion, and put at least 56 total yards in half of them.
| DARREL WILLIAMS WITH OVER 5 TOUCHES, 2019-2020 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opp | Att | Run | No | Rec | Tot | TD |
| 2020 | Balt. | 9 | 62 | 5 | 47 | 109 | 0 |
| 2020 | Clev. | 13 | 78 | 4 | 16 | 94 | 0 |
| 2020 | Atl. | 10 | 46 | 4 | 27 | 73 | 0 |
| 2020 | Buf. | 13 | 52 | 1 | 9 | 61 | 1 |
| 2019 | at Det. | 8 | 13 | 3 | 43 | 56 | 2 |
| 2019 | at LAC | 11 | 35 | 2 | 8 | 43 | 1 |
| 2020 | Den. | 6 | 38 | 1 | 5 | 43 | 0 |
| 2020 | at Buf. | 6 | 26 | 1 | 15 | 41 | 1 |
| 2020 | Hou. | 7 | 23 | 2 | 7 | 30 | 0 |
| 2019 | Oak. | 6 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 1 |
| Average | 9 | 39 | 2.4 | 18 | 57 | 0.6 | |
We'll see where Edwards-Helaire is and what further reports come out, but if you're drafting this weekend, make Williams a late-round target.
--Andy Richardson