After four years in Ann Arbor and dozens of big plays in big moments, Donovan Edwards got his shot at an NFL dream Saturday afternoon, as the running back signed an undrafted free agent deal with the New York Jets after going undrafted this weekend.

A former top-50 recruit out of West Bloomfield, Michigan, Edwards appeared in 50 games over four seasons in Ann Arbor, and made 14 starts, including 10 as a senior. 

A near five-star prospect out of high school, Edwards only logged 35 carries as a freshman, for 174 yards and three touchdowns, as he played behind Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins on Michigan’s 2021 squad. He did, however, record a 170-yard receiving game at Maryland en route to 265 receiving yards as a freshman on 26 targets, and threw a 75-yard touchdown pass in the Big Ten championship game.

As a sophomore, Edwards emerged as Michigan’s No. 2 back with Haskins off to the NFL. He registered 100-yard games against Penn State and Rutgers, then emerged as the starter for the Wolverines’ final three games after Corum went down to injury. In those three games, against Ohio State, Purdue in the Big Ten title game and TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, Edwards carried the ball 70 times for 520 yards and three touchdowns, to finish the year with 991 rushing yards and seven scores. He also caught 19 of 24 targets for 207 yards and two more scores.

Hyped as a potential star ahead of his junior year, Edwards struggled behind Corum. He recorded just 393 rushing yards on 113 carries with three touchdowns in the Wolverines’ first 14 games, with just three carries gong for at least 15 yards. Even with 249 receiving yards, Edwards’ season was viewed as a letdown. But in the national title game against Washington, Edwards carried the ball six times for 104 yards, and two touchdowns of more than 40 yards.

That put into motion an offseason of raised expectations for Edwards, who was voted a team captain and graced the cover of EA Sports’ College Football 25 video game. Yet even with Corum off to the NFL and a steadier role in the offense, Edwards had a lackluster 2024 season. He did not record a single 100-yard game, finished with 592 rushing yards on 4.7 yards per carry and scored just four touchdowns to three fumbles. He added just 80 receiving yards on 22 targets, though he did throw a 23-yard touchdown pass in a win over Michigan State.

In all, Edwards finished with a unique statistical profile in his four seasons. He totaled 2,254 rushing yards, 5.4 yards per carry, 19 touchdowns and six fumbles, while he added 801 receiving yards on 106 targets with four touchdowns, and completed all four of his pass attempts for 131 yards and two touchdowns.

Pass-catching ability and versatility out of the backfield and the slot will be Edwards’ best market efficiency compared to other aspiring NFL running backs. Many backs can catch passes out of the backfield, but Edwards has legitimate catching ability, more than 800 career receiving yards and many coaches and teammates said he could have been a starting receiver had he played the position.

Though it didn’t always show on the field, Edwards was one of the more athletic running backs in this year’s class. He posted a 40-yard dash time of 4.44 seconds (93rd percentile among running backs at the Combine since 1987), with a 1.54-second 10-yard split (90.3rd percentile). He also scored a vertical leap of 38.5 inches (93.5th percentile) and 23 reps on the bench press (88.5th percentile). According to RAS.football, Edwards’ combination of size and athleticism puts him in the 97.8th percentile among all Combine-caliber running backs.

NFL teams may also like that many of his best games came on the biggest stages, ncluding championship games and against NFL-caliber defenders and some of the best defenses in the country. He also was able to show home-run ability, with 11 carries in his career of at least 30 yards.

The biggest knock on Edwards’ game is his vision and patience as a runner. That particularly began to show when he was a junior and senior, and defenses better knew what Edwards’ initial moves would be. He also rarely shed tacklers and added extra yards after contact, and never led Michigan in rushing in a season. His lack of consistent production in 2023 compelled him to stay in college for one more season, and a similar lack of production in 2024 caused him to fall in most draft boards.

Regardless, Edwards will get his shot with New York, to change the narrative on his career and chase his dreams.