Round 2, Pick 45

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, LSU

Height: 5-7

Weight: 207

Class: Junior

D.O.B.: 4/11/99

Statistical Profile: Despite just one season as a starter, Edwards-Helaire made the wise decision to declare early for the draft as a true junior, a move that most didn’t even have on their radar heading into the college football season. But what a season it was for CEH, who rushed for over 1,400 yards and 16 touchdowns while catching a whopping 55 passes for 453 yards and another score.

Scouting Edwards-Helaire: Everyone loves Edwards-Helaire, but nobody wants to rank a 5-7 running back as the best in the class. Yet CEH is no slight-framed, gadget back, tipping the scales at 207 pounds, which is insanely stacked for his height. Physical and athletic comparisons to Maurice Jones-Drew are apt, except CEH is a bit taller and a good bit slower.

CEH is the best receiving back in the class, with terrific hands, sharp routes and outstanding post-catch ability. He’s consistently gained separation against linebackers with nuance and burst at the top of his routes, and once he gets the ball in his hands it can take an army to get him to the ground. CEH also aligned all over LSU’s offense, playing a healthy amount of snaps out wide when the team would go empty, so he’ll be familiar with a pro-style passing attack in a way that few college running backs are.

That receiving ability is arguably the most distinguishable ability between any good running back and the most impactful players at the position in the NFL, so the fact that CEH is such a standout in that area should increase his value heavily. He has some technical things to clean up in pass protection, but that’s every college back. The physicality and awareness are there already.

As a runner, CEH won’t be a home-run threat, but that’s not really important for a position that hardly ever offers home-run plays. His vision is outstanding, and his ability to manipulate second level linebackers while still playing fast is second to none. CEH may not be fast, but he has excellent burst through the first level and is a load to bring down at the second and third.

Watch the way he creates and gets out of jams when runs get blown up. Agility, vision, burst, balance. It’s all there.

Look at CEH get the weakside linebacker to flow toward the A-gap before bouncing back to the opposite B-gap. Not only does it put the defender out of position to make a play, but CEH also just made the left guard’s second level block a heck of a lot easier.

If the only things keeping CEH from being the consensus top back in the draft are his height and his athleticism (really just his 4.6 speed), I just don’t think those are good enough reasons to put him behind the other backs in the class. He does everything that you want at the position and he does it well. He’s a three-down back with elite football character and work ethic, who doesn’t fumble, and plays every snap like it might be his last. Being a running back should bring down his value, but I’d want him on my team at the right price.

Bucs Fit: Bruce Arians has repeatedly said that the most important thing he is looking for in a running back prospect is pass-catching ability, so based on that alone, CEH should be atop the Bucs’ wish-list at the position. The fact that he’s run in a versatile scheme at LSU and still had success bodes well for his ability to fit in on three downs in Tampa Bay too.

There’s a decent chance CEH is still available when the Bucs pick in the third round, so keep that in mind. That would be a much better value pick for a starting running back, as the position just doesn’t move the needle enough by itself to be worth a high value selection. I’d love to have CEH on the Bucs, I’d just be a lot more ecstatic about it if it were in Round 3 given his position.