Clyde Edwards-Helaire facts for kids
Edwards-Helaire with the LSU Tigers in 2020
|
|||||||||||||
| No. 23 – New Orleans Saints | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | April 11, 1999 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 207 lb (94 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Catholic (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) |
||||||||||||
| College: | LSU (2017–2019) | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 32 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||
Clyde Edwards-Helaire (born April 11, 1999) is a professional American football player. He plays the running back position for the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League (NFL). A running back's main job is to run with the football.
He played college football for the LSU Tigers. The Kansas City Chiefs chose him in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft. With the Chiefs, he won two Super Bowl championships.
Contents
Early Life and High School
Clyde Edwards-Helaire was born and grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He went to Catholic High School. He was so talented that he was the first freshman in 29 years to play on the main football team. Besides football, he also ran track & field.
In his last year of high school, he rushed for 496 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. In the state championship game, he was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP). He helped his team, the Bears, win the game 31–28. Because he was such a good player, he decided to play college football for his hometown team, the LSU Tigers.
College Football Career
.jpg)
As a freshman at LSU, Edwards-Helaire played in all 13 games, mostly on special teams. In his second year, he was the team's second-best runner with 658 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. He had his first game with over 100 rushing yards against Louisiana Tech, where he gained 136 yards and scored two touchdowns.
His junior season was his best. He became the starting running back for LSU. In a big game against Alabama, he rushed for 103 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught nine passes for 77 yards and another touchdown, helping LSU win 46–41.
By the end of the regular season, he had rushed for 1,414 yards and 16 touchdowns. This was the third-highest rushing total in a single season in LSU's history. He was chosen as a first-team All-SEC player, a major honor in college football.
He helped LSU win the 2020 National Championship Game against Clemson. In that game, he rushed for 110 yards. After this successful season, he decided to leave college early and enter the 2020 NFL draft to become a professional player.
Professional Football Career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 7+1⁄4 in (1.71 m) |
215 lb (98 kg) |
29 in (0.74 m) |
9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.57 s | 1.60 s | 2.55 s | 39.5 in (1.00 m) |
10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) |
15 reps | |||
| All values from NFL Combine | ||||||||||||
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs picked Edwards-Helaire in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
First Seasons (2020–2021)
In his very first NFL game, Edwards-Helaire rushed for 138 yards and scored a touchdown. At 21, he became the youngest player in NFL history to run for that many yards and score in their first game. He had a great rookie season, finishing with 803 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
In the playoffs, he helped the Chiefs reach Super Bowl LV. In the Super Bowl, he rushed for 64 yards, but the Chiefs lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In his second season, he had two games in a row with 100 rushing yards. He missed some games because of a knee injury but returned later in the season. He finished the 2021 season with 517 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Super Bowl Champion (2022–2023)
During the 2022 season, a talented rookie named Isiah Pacheco became the starting running back. Edwards-Helaire was placed on injured reserve in November. He was not able to play in Super Bowl LVII, but the Chiefs won the championship against the Philadelphia Eagles, so he earned a Super Bowl ring.
In 2023, he rushed for 223 yards. The Chiefs had another amazing season and made it to Super Bowl LVIII. They defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25–22, and Edwards-Helaire won his second Super Bowl championship with the team.
Final Year with the Chiefs
In 2024, Edwards-Helaire re-signed with the Chiefs. He was placed on a special list for a non-football illness before the season started. He was activated in October but was released from the team on December 16.
New Orleans Saints
On December 18, 2024, Edwards-Helaire signed with the New Orleans Saints practice squad. He was moved to the main team for the Week 17 game against the Las Vegas Raiders. On February 13, 2025, he signed a new one-year contract with the Saints.
NFL Career Statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won the Super Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2020 | KC | 13 | 13 | 181 | 803 | 4.4 | 31 | 4 | 36 | 297 | 8.3 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | KC | 10 | 10 | 119 | 517 | 4.3 | 17 | 4 | 19 | 129 | 6.8 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 2022 | KC | 10 | 6 | 71 | 302 | 4.3 | 52 | 3 | 17 | 151 | 8.9 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | KC | 15 | 3 | 70 | 223 | 3.2 | 20 | 1 | 17 | 188 | 11.1 | 48 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | NO | 2 | 0 | 13 | 46 | 3.5 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 8.0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 50 | 32 | 454 | 1,891 | 4.2 | 52 | 12 | 92 | 789 | 8.6 | 48 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2020 | KC | 2 | 2 | 15 | 71 | 4.7 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 7.7 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | KC | 2 | 0 | 13 | 96 | 7.4 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | KC | 0 | 0 | did not play due to injury | |||||||||||
| 2023 | KC | 4 | 0 | 11 | 53 | 4.8 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1.8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Career | 8 | 2 | 39 | 220 | 5.6 | 28 | 1 | 9 | 43 | 4.8 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Personal Life
In December 2018, Edwards-Helaire and a teammate were involved in a dangerous situation. They had to act in self-defense, which was a very difficult experience. Because of this event, he deals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He has been open about his struggles with PTSD and how it affects him.
During the Chiefs' Super Bowl LVIII victory parade, he acted heroically by protecting a teenager from gunfire. For his bravery, he received a heroism award from the Uvalde Foundation for Kids.
His last name, Edwards-Helaire, comes from two important people in his life. "Edwards" is from his birth father, and "Helaire" is from his stepfather, who raised him. He legally changed his name when he was fourteen to honor both men.
