Fresh off the heels of a much-needed offensive explosion last week, the Kansas City Chiefs get a bit healthier in Week 11 thanks to the addition of Clyde Edwards-Helaire. However, for fantasy football managers, his return has potentially muddied the waters, and it is our job to sort this all out. What does Edwards-Helaire’s return mean for the rest of the season fantasy value of Darrel Williams, Jerick McKinnon, and Derrick Gore?
Clyde Edwards-Helaire set to return after a five-game absence
In a bit of good news as we head into Week 11, the Chiefs have activated Edwards-Helaire off the injured reserve list (knee), and he’s expected to play in Week 11 based on reports. CEH hasn’t played since sustaining an MCL sprain in a Week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Prior to his injury, Edwards-Helaire was off to a rather lackluster start. Despite seeing ample opportunities (16.5 per game), he was only the RB23 in PPR scoring, averaging 12.0 points per game. From Weeks 1-4, Edwards-Helaire rushed 58 times for 291 yards with no rushing touchdowns while recording 7 receptions on 8 targets for 50 additional yards and 2 TDs.
It’s expected CEH will slowly be worked back into the offense as he gets his conditioning back. There is only so much a player can do on the side to manage a lower-body injury. With that said I do expect to see him as the lead back for the remainder of the season. The question now becomes how much work will players like Darrel Williams siphon away from Edwards-Helaire moving forward.
CEH has now missed eight games in his short career and has struggled to live up to expectations despite the first-round draft capital. In fairness, he was coming off back-to-back 100-yard games before his MCL sprain. But did Williams do enough as the lead back to earn more touches this season? I’m concerned the answer is yes, and this backfield becomes more of a committee than we would feel comfortable within the fantasy realm.
Darrel Williams not likely to go away anytime soon
Williams has looked good. Plain and simple. You could even argue he has looked better than Edwards-Helaire, and I don’t think you would get much blowback for that opinion. He is coming off a massive game in Week 10 where he racked up 144 scrimmage yards and a TD, with 101 of those coming as a receiver on 9 targets.
Since Week 6, Williams has averaged 19.2 opportunities and 94 yards per game. Over this stretch, he is the RB4, averaging 17.8 PPR points. In those five starts, he is averaging 4.8 receptions per game. That is twice as much as CEH’s career average (2.4) despite that being one of his notable skills coming out of LSU.
For Week 11, I do expect to see Williams lead the team in RB opportunities. The Chiefs have a bye in Week 12, and the prudent move would be to slowly ramp up Edwards-Helaire this week and use next week off to rest and see how his body handles the return to action. Williams has RB2 upside for fantasy this week.
As for the remainder of the season, I don’t believe Williams is going away, which comes at the detriment of both him and CEH for fantasy. Even if Edwards-Helaire handles the majority of the carries, Williams might very well have solidified his role as the passing back. He’s proven to be a more reliable option. The loss of rushes hurts his floor, where the lack of targets lowers CEH’s ceiling. Ideally, I would be trying to move either player before your leagues’ quickly approaching trade deadline.
Jerick McKinnon and Derrick Gore are outside fantasy consideration
Assuming both Edwards-Helaire and Williams rotate in and out, there is little left for both McKinnon and Gore.
Gore was a fun story. Everyone googled his relationship with Frank Gore (there is none) after his 11-carry outing in Week 8 where he found the end zone. However, he’s seen just 10 opportunities combined in the following two games.
McKinnon has mainly been used in the receiving game, recording 10 receptions on 17 targets for 81 yards. Yet, with Williams likely to see the majority of the passing work, McKinnon is virtually phased out of the offense.
There is always the chance one of them could find the end zone or see more work than expected. But barring an injury, neither player can be trusted in fantasy and should not be rostered.