Pick-a-Player: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kenny Golladay, Todd Gurley

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This article is about a 21-minute read.

Editor's Note: This article and the surveys used to write it were completed before the Kansas City Chiefs announced that RB Damien Williams has decided to opt out of the 2020 season.

The premise of a Pick-a-Player question is as follows:

• Three comparable players are available.
• The draft is at a stage where these players are usually drafted.
• You can take one of them or pass on all three for someone else.

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It's the 3.01 pick in a standard 12-team, PPR draft. You have already drafted Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle, and the players listed below are off the board. Would you select Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kenny Golladay, or Todd Gurley? Or would you pass on all three?

Starting Lineup:

• 1 quarterback
• 2 running backs
• 3 wide receivers
• 1 tight end
• 1 flex (RB/WR/TE)
• 1 kicker
• 1 defense

Player Taken:

• QB Patrick Mahomes II, KC/10
• QB Lamar Jackson, BAL/8
  
  
• TE Travis Kelce, KC/10
• TE George Kittle, SF/11
  
  
• RB Christian McCaffrey, CAR/13
• RB Saquon Barkley, NYG/11
• RB Ezekiel Elliott, DAL/10
• RB Alvin Kamara, NO/6
• RB Dalvin Cook, MIN/7
• RB Derrick Henry, TEN/7
• RB Joe Mixon, CIN/9
• RB Nick Chubb, CLE/9
• RB Josh Jacobs, LV/6
• RB Kenyan Drake, ARI/8
• RB Miles Sanders, PHI/9
• RB Austin Ekeler, LAC/10
• RB Aaron Jones, GB/5
  
  
• WR Michael Thomas, NO/6
• WR Davante Adams, GB/5
• WR Tyreek Hill, KC/10
• WR DeAndre Hopkins, ARI/8
• WR Julio Jones, ATL/10
• WR Chris Godwin, TB/13
• WR Mike Evans, TB/13

The Results

And the winner is -- a mix of Golladay, Gurley, and None! See the percentages below.

Comments from the Staff

Jason Wood

I'm not particularly enamored with any of this trio. But I'm not actively avoiding them as busts, either. Edwards-Helaire is being overdrafted. The Chiefs and Andy Reid have no reason to commit to a single back, particularly in an offseason where learning the playbook and mastering blitz pickups is nearly impossible. The team needs to keep Patrick Mahomes II upright, and I don't see Edwards-Helaire as emerging as anything other than the 1a to Damien Williams' 1b for the first few months of the season.

Kenny Golladay was great last year, and Matthew Stafford was on pace for a career season before shutting down. Golladay is worthy of his draft spot, but receiver depth is robust and I've liked my roster construction much more if I go in a different direction in the third round.

As one of the guys repping hardest for Gurley last year, it's ironic I find myself on the other end of the spectrum this year. How often does a running back change teams, particularly after injuries have clearly eradicated their peak skills, and return positive fantasy value? I can see Gurley thriving as a fantasy player if the Falcons offense looks like it did in the second half, and Gurley can convert a bunch of short-yardage scores. But I don't see him morphing back into an elite player.

Jeff Pasquino

The short answer here is that I don't like Gurley (too much risk, not enough reward) or Edwards-Helaire (too expensive given that Damien Williams is still a key part of the offense), so my pick is Kenny Golladay.

To elaborate a little, rookie Edwards-Helaire is in a prime spot to step up and deliver good fantasy production, but there are a lot of mouths to feed in Kansas City and only one potential touchdown each time the offense has the ball. Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill are both Top 20 players for a reason, as both are expected to be highly productive (as is their QB, Patrick Mahomes II). Expecting Top 15 numbers from a rookie with little or no training camp and an established veteran sharing the backfield seems like a lot of risk to take on for a second-round selection.

Gurley is a known veteran quantity with "boom/bust" potential. He could thrive down in Atlanta as the featured back for the Falcons in his old collegiate area, or Gurley's knee could act up (again) and cost him significant playing time. Yes, he offers up RB1-caliber performances when healthy, but he misses too much time to take a gamble on him carrying your team both to the playoffs and through them to a championship in December.

Golladay is a Top 5-8 wide receiver who was the third-best receiver in the NFL last year WITHOUT HIS STARTING QUARTERBACK FOR 1/2 THE SEASON last year. I cannot emphasize that enough. Golladay excelled in more than trying circumstances with Matthew Stafford out after eight games. Over that eight-game stretch, Golladay was a Top 20 WR in both PPR and non-PPR (30-550-4 on 54 targets) with two quarterbacks that most people cannot name at all. Focusing on the time with Stafford, Golladay was a Top 12 receiver over the first eight games last season (35-640-7). I think it is rather safe to say that Golladay will be a high-end WR2 with solid WR1 potential even if Stafford misses time. He has set his floor, which was the last eight games last season, as a strong WR2. He is my clear target in this spot.

Chad Parsons

I would take Todd Gurley of the group pretty easily. While the Rams degraded in 2019, Gurley was still a sturdy RB2 with upside. Now, Gurley gets the keys to the Falcons offense, attached to a quality quarterback and passing game. Gurley is one of my underrated running backs for this season and a great RB2 within a draft strategy.

Bob Henry

Of these three players, I'm taking Kenny Golliday all day, every day. That's not to say I think Gurley is toast or a bust in the making, but his risk profile moves him to third among this group. Like others, I absolutely love Clyde Edwards-Helaire - as a draft prospect, as a rookie, as a dynasty asset and without question as a player whose skills are a perfect match for the Chiefs prolific offense. It's just that he has to step on the field immediately and play more than half of the snaps to be worth the draft capital of 3.01. He probably will be doing that by the second half of the season, or in time for the fantasy playoff weeks, but Damien Williams isn't just going to step aside with no offseason and coming off a SuperBowl MVP worthy performance.

The 3.01 spot is tricky, though, so you have to plant a flag on one of these three, make a bold pick by taking Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes II or another back that is among my favorite targets in the third round - James Conner. I'm comfortable riding with Golliday, though, even if it means I'm banking on Matthew Stafford's health as much as anything else.

Another draft angle I've put into practice is recognizing that with 3.01 you are also playing with house money for your RB2. With Christian McCaffrey locked in you can take a shot with Edwards-Helaire (and still grab Williams a few rounds later). Locking up the best player on the planet with the Kansas City team running back is a bit of a coup.

Jeff Haseley

Put me in the camp that will also pass over Todd Gurley. There is too much uncertainty with Clyde Edwards-Helaire and the direction the Chiefs will go when it comes to the amount of involvement he will have in the offense this year. This pick is too valuable to hope a player is given increased volume. Kenny Golladay is the next highest on my own rankings, but my gut tells me to draft another running back at this spot - the only problem, pick 3.01 is too early in my opinion for Leonard Fournette, LeVeon Bell, or David Johnson. I can see myself taking more time than usual on this pick if I were on the clock. Ultimately, my pick here is Kenny Golladay. Last year the knock on Golladay not being an elite wide receiver was due to his low number of touchdowns. He answered that bell to the tune of 11 touchdowns, on only 65 catches. Not too bad at all for not having Matthew Stafford for the second half of the season. Golladay has reached WR1 status and should have a similar season to 2019, if not better with Stafford healthy.

Jordan McNamara

I'm not convinced Clyde Edwards-Helaire is the lead back in Kansas City in week one. At 3.01, I have a hard time making that type of investment. Kenny Golladay has been good, but his 250 points on 116 targets in 2019 are a cautionary sign. That is 2.16 points per target about a half-point per target above the average for wide receivers. Points per target is a classic regression stat as there is little correlation year over year. When a player has a very high points per target stat in one year, you need to be very cautious of taking them high in a draft, especially when you are not projecting a big volume increase.

I think the pick here is either Todd Gurley or Leonard Fournette, and I would take Fournette for the reasons I laid out here.

Andy Hicks

This is a very tough choice here. With the players off the board, there is no need to even look at Tight End and Quarterback for several rounds. That means I should be spending the next few rounds deciding on wide receivers and running backs. None of these players will be available for my fourth-round pick, but only one of these three interest me and that is Kenny Golladay. Ultimately I am deciding whether to get my second running back in David Johnson or one of a group of receivers in Golladay, Keenan Allen, A.J. Brown, and Odell Beckham Jr There is a more than even chance that Allen is here for my fourth pick so I will exclude him from consideration.

Given the number of players who will be taken before my fourth-round pick, I need to consider who I will be choosing between then. My running back choices are likely to be Mark Ingram, David Montgomery, Raheem Mostert, or players with even more concerns. At wide receiver, I should get Keenan Allen and the choice of Courtland Sutton, D.J. Chark, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and many others with my fifth pick.

Taking Golladay, A.J. Brown, or Beckham is not going to make up for not getting David Johnson and getting stuck with a poorer RB2. Taking Johnson here allows me to go on a wide receiver splurge later and I will still be happy with the quality I land.

Matt Waldman

I'm passing on all three although I like Kenny Golladay the best of the trio because of the reasons Jason and Bob mentioned as well as Wood citing receiver depth later.

Gurley earns consideration because I also championed him as a top-15 back last year despite the knee concerns and in Atlanta, he will have a better offensive line. Still, I think there are two better backs on the board.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire is the Rookie Fever pick. He's talented but he can't block that well and he lacks true power of a starter. He could be stuck in a committee early.

Also, the opt-out of guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardiff adds some uncertainty with the offensive line. With the odd nature of practices before the season and the lack of rapport that offensive lines will likely have due to fewer physical reps to get that muscle memory with the timing of double teams and pulls, I want to find backs with lines that have that cohesive rapport or should get up to speed quicker than others.

This is a dicey running back pool after the third round and being at 3.01, I don't want to be stuck with Devin Singletary, David Montgomery, Raheem Mostert, Cam Akers, of D'Andre Swift as my No.2 runner. The backs could have great success but there are too many "ifs."

There are two backs later in the third round that I'd love to have as my No.2 starter: James Conner and Chris Carson. Although Carson has the best production from last year as a fantasy RB1 (and for the life of me, I can't understand why he's a low-end RB2 this year), I prefer Conner slightly more.

Conner has an excellent offensive line, his quarterback is healthy, and Conner has finally had time to remake his body after dealing with a life-threatening illness in college, NFL Draft season, and then transitioning to the NFL.

A skilled receiver with power and burst, Conner has the fantasy RB1 upside that he delivered two years ago. The Steelers declared him the feature back after the NFL Draft and rightfully so. Benny Snell is a hard-working plodder, Jaylen Samuels is an H-Back asked to play running back despite doing it pretty well, and Anthony McFarland second-guesses way too many crease openings despite that Tevin Coleman, Miles Sanders, C.J. Spiller athletic ability that creates fan-boy crushes before seeing the whole of the player's game.

I'll happily opt for Conner ahead of his current ADP of 36 because the 2019 Steelers offense was an aberration of injuries and inexperienced skill play. He's much closer to the sixth-ranked fantasy back that he was in 2018 with just 13 games played than the 33rd-ranked option with only 10 games in 2019.

I'm pumped just thinking about it.

Ryan Hester

In a full PPR league that starts three wide receivers, this roster is already behind the eight-ball at the most important position. Between that and his immense upside, Golladay is the pick here. In fact, selecting Golladay and another wide receiver here is defensible over having selected Kittle at 2.12. My preference would be Adam Thielen. He's being underappreciated considering that his target share should increase, and we need to assume full health this year, as opposed to his somewhat lost 2018 where his hamstring injury nagged him even after his return.

Phil Alexander

I wouldn't argue against anyone tabbing Golladay as the pick. As Jeff alluded to, he deserves a ton of credit for getting it done in the face of catching passes from Jeff Driskel and David Blough last year. Golladay is a pass for me, though, due to position scarcity.

Guys like T.Y. Hilton, Terry McLaurin, and D.J. Chark will are likely to be waiting at the Round 4-5 turn, and grabbing two of them will anchor my wide receiver corps just fine. At 3.01, armed with massive advantages over my opponents at RB1 and TE1, and knowing I'll be fine waiting at wide receiver, Conner would be my selection.

Nothing against Gurley, who profiles as a good enough RB2 this year, or Edwards-Helaire, who doesn't need to pass-protect to get on the field for Andy Reid (see Kareem Hunt's rookie year), but Conner is going too late in drafts.

Pittsburgh's offensive line is aging but still one of the best in the league. Mike Tomlin has a history of riding a single running back for as long as he has the option. And we've seen Conner finish as one of the best running backs in fantasy already. Fragility is a concern, but Conner comes with fewer question marks than both Gurley and Edwards-Helaire.

Chris Allen

If I were to stay within the list provided, it's Golladay without much hesitation. Stafford was already on a Top-5 pace in terms of Points Per Game while Detroit was around the league's average in neutral passing rate (58.8%). He got there being fifth in passes of 10 air yards or more and third in attempts of 15 air yards or more. Stafford's ability to sling it directly benefited Golladay (and Marvin Jones) as he wound up in the Top 10 for targets in both categories while Stafford was still active. The target tree in Detroit isn't as narrow as I'd like it to be as both Jones and Danny Amendola were close in targets share, but Golladay's the clear WR1. The only concern is the other wide receivers going around him.

If I were to go off the board, I'm coming around on the idea of being aggressive on Juju Smith-Schuster. MFL ADP has him going at the 2.02 in PPR drafts this time last season. Pittsburgh, with Ben Roethlisberger, had a 65.1% neutral passing rate, and Smith-Schuster posted a 67.8% slot rate on 165 targets. We've already bought into the talent, we're getting a discount on the player, and his quarterback should be ready to start the season. Given the types of targets he's likely to receive, I could see myself trying to take him there.

Andrew Davenport

I'm with everyone for the most part on Edwards-Helaire. There just isn't any reason to think he's going to come in and play much early in the year. So if that's the case that is an awfully expensive draft pick to burn in order to sit him on the bench until Halloween. I understand the allure of having the next Kareem Hunt on the best offense in the league, but the price is too steep for me.

I like Golladay quite a bit as well, but what I keep finding when I look at my rankings is that he's sorta there in the spot he is by default. I don't find myself that enamored with him, yet I can't move anyone else up above him. That means I have some sort of internal bias here because he was pretty darn good with some bad quarterback play over the second half of the year. I think the main issue I have is that drafting from the 2/3 turn means that the running back situation is pretty barren by the time you pick again on the 4/5 turn. Further, while I have Golladay ranked over guys like Allen Robinson, D.J. Moore, and Mike Evans, I'd rather have those guys at their price. I feel like I can get a large percentage of Golladay's production from guys like Robert Woods or Tyler Lockett on the 4/5 wrap-around. Golladay is a great player, but I'm not big on having to take him where he's going this draft season.

Last summer at this time I was off of Todd Gurley in a big way. But this summer I find myself thinking he's the best of the group of guys going in the third round when chasing that all-important second running back. Gurley's knee worries me, and the Falcons throw the ball a lot, but if there is anyone I can tell a story about in round three that makes me the most piqued, this year it's Gurley. The Falcons wanted Freeman to succeed so badly, and yet he wasn't up to it. Gurley may be on the downside of his career, but he is a far superior player to Freeman, and if he gets the receiving work that Freeman got, as well as locking down the red zone work, then he could easily stumble into 50 receptions and 8 touchdowns without much trouble - bad knee or not. Gurley is my pick based on draft theory, as well as his role. Nobody in that running back room will give him a run for meaningful snaps if he can manage his knee and stay on the field.

Devin Knotts

I'm taking none of these players and instead I'm going with Melvin Gordon. Based on Pat Shurmur's history as an offensive coordinator, I fully expect this to be a one running back system with Phillip Lindsay playing nothing more than a complementary role. The Broncos paid up to go out and get Gordon and while he has had health issues in the past, they seem to be somewhat past him. If Gordon gets 80% of the touches which I expect him to do, he has first-round upside in this offense.

If forced between the three, Golladay would be my pick as he is the most consistent player of the group and someone that you can rely on as a low-end number one receiver.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, at the moment, seems to be the biggest trap in the draft. People want to buy into the hype regarding a first-round running back coming into the Chiefs offense, but don't buy into it. Expect it to still be a split backfield scenario and an offense that will still be a pass-first offense.

Todd Gurley is just too unreliable at this stage of his career for me. Yes, he is only entering his age 26 season, but the injuries have taken a toll for Gurley and he did not look like the same running back that we saw pre-December of 2018. Gurley had just three carries longer than 20 yards last season and no carry longer than 25 yards, as he looked a step slow at times.

Dan Hindery

I will take Golladay because I do not trust either running back enough to draft them in the top 25. That may change if we hear reports out of Atlanta in a few weeks that Gurley looks great or if we hear that Edwards-Helaire has already passed Damien Williams on the depth chart. For now, I will stick with the sure thing in Golladay.

Select Comments from The Shark Pool

Catbird

While CEH has the upside, he and Gurley both have huge downsides. I'll take the safe young star over the risky ones.

rockaction

Golladay, though receiver is still deep and running back scarce now.

huthut

Both RBs have serious flaws that could land them in the perpetual "could have a good week if they get more than 10 touches", which IMO is the worst type of player since it always feels like you are chasing last weeks points, where they get 20 on your bench and then 4 in your lineup.

CEH will need to grab touches from Damien Williams while having fewer opportunities at training camp to work into the system, as well as show he can pass block in the NFL to keep the 0.5 billion dollar man up.

You never know when Gurley's knees will flare up or how limited in touches he will be.

Golladay or a similar-tier wide receiver makes sense since you need to start 3 of them. I can also see the rationale to grab another RB if there is one you like since you don't pick for a while, just personal preference I would not grab either of those two until a round or two later.

jm192

Kenny G.

I don't trust CEH for fantasy purposes this year. Due to COVID-19, rookies are missing a lot of the off-season activities. There's no pre-season. I don't think Damien Williams is good, but he's very good in the Kansas City system. I see no reason to bench him and highly use CEH when Williams has been so effective. I worry that they're in a pretty even split and my third-round pick is seeing 10-12 touches a game.

Gurley is such a mystery box. If I told you that one of these three players had knee issues, that would probably be the one near the bottom of the list. What if I told you the guy with the knee issues is on a whole new team in a new system? It's entirely possible his struggles were due to the o-line, and he upgrades in Atlanta. But knee issues and a new team in the third round -- I'll let someone else roll those dice.

Kenny G is really the only certain guy of the three. In eight games with Stafford, he was on pace for 70/1280/14. He should be in line for another big season with the band back together.

Dr. Octopus

If this was not a Covid-19 offseason I'd go with CEH, but since I believe no real preseason leaves him behind Williams Golladay is an easy choice.

Gally

I took Golladay on the previous poll (I selected "Other" in the poll) which was an earlier pick than this so if he is still here at this point I would select him easily over the other two choices. I just worry about the downside of the other two choices and I prefer Golladay over what other players are left as well.

mike11162

Like the others, I'd take Golladay. But if it's a keeper league, CEH would be tempting. I tend to prefer having an anchor at each major position instead of overloading at one, even if it's running back

Duckboy

Of these, I’m taking Golladay pretty easily. He, D.J. Moore, and Allen Robinson are about even, but I’d give Golladay the advantage due to a known quarterback situation.

CEH might have the best upside as a season changer late, but with no training camp, I think he will be too far behind the learning curve to have value until late (he would be a good trade target early to midseason). Additionally having CMC helps to wait on RB and see what comes back at the next turn.

Gurley wouldn’t be a consideration here but would be at the next set if he makes it back.

Select Comments from Facebook

Dave S

Gurley seems to me like he would be the workhorse in ATL. He will have the best out of the backfield skills, although Ryan has not had a check down back that I can remember. Ryan is used to throwing to the wide receivers and tight ends. With less time to get ready for the regular season, this too weighs heavy on me since they won't have a lot of chemistry when the regular season starts. I will still take him, however.

Golladay will have a good season I think, but Dallas did take Lamb in the first round in the draft. I have a strong suspicion that he will take targets away from Golladay later in the season as Lamb develops.

The Chiefs drafted Clyde Edwards-Helaire who is pegged to be the back behind Damien Williams. He is a rookie, and as a habit, I stay away from rookies. He will be a change of pace back and maybe a fourth quarterback. With limited practice time in pads, I am thinking no on him, too.

So while there are reasons not to pick Gurley, injuries plus the other reasons above, he is the next logical pick for me of the three.

Belvin M

It would be tough, but I would go with Gurley. Even if he only gets his numbers last year he is a solid RB2. But he is playing behind a better line, has no real challenge for workload, and a good passing game to keep defenses honest. Golladay would be a solid pick, I just worry running back will be too thin by the time my pick comes back around. Wide receiver is DEEP, especially in PPR. Getting two solid starters at running back means you can focus on loading up on receivers.

Joe B

I think Gurley. Nervous about rookies this year with lack of practice etc so that rules out taking CEH this high in redraft. Think there are lots of very good wide receivers still on board, but I think the drop-off after Gurley at running back is significant. Like Golladay but would hope to get Thielen next pick. Think Gurley locked into so much volume behind a much better offensive line and very little competition

Dan S

Gurley at RB14 feels like the best pick. He had the worst line of his career last year, he has plenty of catches coming his way.

Golladay had the second-highest points per touch of all wide receivers w/ 50+ catches in a season looking at 2014-2019. He'll regress in pts per touch this season. I love Golladay, but there's a lot of risk there.

CEH has a lot to prove and a crowded backfield. He has the widest range of outcomes of the three. I think he's a buy low at the end of Sept.

Alan K

Given the choices. I’m off rookies this year. I just think they’ll be behind the 8-ball leading to vets being the starter at least initially.

With that said I’m taking GURLEY. Running back is going to dry up and I’m willing to give him one more chance. Improved offensive line and quarterback play. If freeman can catch 59 passes imagine what Gurley will do? I believe the hate on him has gone too far.

I’ll pound receiver after taking Gurley. Great value in 4-6.

Ed A

I think Golladay would be the steal of the draft in the third and you would be solid at the three positions. With that said, If you take him you could leave yourself thin at running back. If picking running back, I think you go with a Chris Carson over Gurley. Carson is a quiet producer.

Dave C

Gurley. The depth at running back is much shallower than at wide receiver. And pass on the rookie running back on an offense with plenty of other options.

Innes M

Golladay. It's going to be forever before it gets back to me, and there's going to be a run on WRs over the next 22 picks.

Jeremy V

I’ll go off the board and take Melvin Gordon. Will not be much left for RBs in the next round, but there will still be good value at wide receiver.

Zachary T

I'd probably take Amari Cooper here honestly. I'm not worried about CeeDee Lamb stealing targets yet and their offense will not slow down. If one of the three, Golladay is my answer.

James R

Pass on all three and take Conner. With Ben Roethlisberger back, I think Conner bounces back. Running back would be super thin by the time 4.12 rolls around.

Evan S

Golladay for that solid stud at the three core positions

Tom M

Looking at who would be available 24 spots later: wide receivers Allen, Lockett, Woods would make me go running back here. Edwards is overpriced; Reid splits carries. I’m big on James Conner this year so he’s my pick.

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