Clyde Edwards-Helaire NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds: Le'Veon Bell to Chiefs complicates things

The rich got richer Thursday night in the NFL as the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs beat out the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins for the services of free-agent running back Le'Veon Bell. While Bell will not play in Week 6 because he must clear COVID-19 protocols, he should be in the lineup Week 7. Bell's signing is a win for the Chiefs as a team, but it also seriously hurts the chances of fellow tailback Clyde Edwards-Helaire of winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He's currently a +700 third-favorite at William Hill sportsbook.

CEH, the No. 32 overall pick out of LSU, got off to a fantastic start as a pro. In Kansas City's Week 1 win over Houston, Edwards-Helaire rushed 25 times for 138 yards and a touchdown. He didn't just look like an Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate but maybe an MVP one, too.

However, Edwards-Helaire hasn't topped 64 yards on the ground since, totaling 56 carries for 206 yards with zero touchdowns. That's an average of just 3.68 yards per carry and CEH hasn't been a huge factor in the passing game yet, totaling 17 catches for 169 yards and zero TDs.

Since Week 2, the Chiefs are 19th in the league in rushing (108 yards per game) and don't have a rushing TD from a running back. While Bell is not the three-time Pro Bowler he was in his prime with Pittsburgh, if motivated he can definitely make a difference – especially as a receiver out of the backfield. From 2013-2017, no running back in the NFL had more receptions (312), targets (397) and receiving yards (2,660) than Bell.

Coach Andy Reid loves two-back systems and using "21" personnel (two backs, two receivers and a tight end). The 2019 Chiefs split carries during the regular season between Damien Williams (opted out of 2020) and LeSean McCoy. The 2018 Chiefs did with Williams and Kareem Hunt until Hunt was cut loose for off-the-field issues. Perhaps Bell serves the role that Brian Westbrook did so well with Reid's terrific Eagles teams in the first decade of this century.

Bell's size (6-1, 225) also gives the Chiefs a much better short-yardage option than Edwards-Helaire (5-7, 207), who has continued to struggle in that role. It will be interesting to see how fired up Edwards-Helaire is Monday night in Buffalo with the Chiefs as 4.5-point favorites as it could be his last chance to prove he can be a bell cow.

No member of the Chiefs has ever won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Edwards-Helaire now doesn't seem likely to end that drought barring a Bell injury almost immediately.

William Hill OROY favorites

• Justin Herbert +125
• Joe Burrow +180
• Clyde Edwards-Helaire +700
• James Robinson +1500
• CeeDee Lamb +1500
• Jonathan Taylor +1500

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