Can Donovan Edwards force the NY Jets to keep him?

Next up, Edwards presses the line to draw the defense inside, setting up a bounce to the outside. He is contacted around the line of scrimmage but fights through for a 4-yard pickup on second-and-10 in the red zone.

On this rep, Edwards displays excellent vision. There isn’t much there as he takes the ball, but he stays patient and presses the line to see if anything else develops. When he sees the middle linebacker commit back-side, Edwards explodes into the vacated front-side hole and puts his head down, falling forward for a nice 4-yard gain on first-and-10.

Edwards’ most memorable play of the night didn’t even count. He broke loose for a 73-yard touchdown run that was nullified by a holding penalty. While the penalty directly contributed to Edwards’ run, it was still an impressive display of breakaway speed. Edwards clocked a 4.44 in the forty, and it showed on this play.

Edwards kept running hard despite the frustration of having a 73-yard touchdown nullified. Later on, he evades an unblocked tackler in the backfield and spins out of another tackle to record a 4-yard gain on first down. This Jets coaching staff must absolutely love Edwards’ ability to consistently churn out these 4+ yard gains to set up manageable second and third downs for their limited QB room.

With penetration on the front side of this zone play, Edwards quickly gets downhill and plows through the hole. He shows nice contact balance as he runs through one diving tackle attempt, and keeps charging forward for a 7-yard chain-mover on second-and-6.

Edwards also showed some pass-catching chops. On this angle route out of the backfield, Edwards does a nice job of pressing outside to widen the linebacker in zone coverage. It’s an easy grab, but Edwards shines after the catch, making one man miss and sprinting into the open lane for a 21-yard chunk.

Can Edwards make the Jets think twice?

Edwards is building his case as one of the 53 best players on the Jets’ roster.

But is there a spot for him on the 53-man roster?

Those are two different subjects.

Edwards is a fascinating running back prospect. He’s only 22 years old and has elite athleticism. On top of his impressive 40 time (4.44), he boasts a Relative Athletic Score of 9.67, buoyed by excellent marks in the vertical jump (38.5 inches) and bench press (23 reps).

At one point, Edwards was an ascending superstar in the Big Ten. As a 19-year-old true sophomore in 2022, Edwards led the Big Ten in yards per carry (7.1). He racked up 1,191 yards from scrimmage and nine total touchdowns on just 158 touches.

Then, in 2023, Blake Corum stole the reins from Edwards as Michigan’s bell-cow running back. Edwards remained relegated to a complementary role over the next two seasons, and his efficiency also dropped.

Nonetheless, with his age, athletic profile, and early breakout in a power conference, Edwards still seemed like an intriguing prospect worthy of a Day 3 dice roll. For whatever reason, he slipped through the cracks, and he now finds himself fighting for a roster spot on a team with excellent running back depth.

If Edwards continues to play as well as he did on Saturday, he shouldn’t have to worry about his future. Should the Jets decide to waive him, he will almost undoubtedly be claimed by a happy team.

That leads us to the Jets’ dillemma.

Edwards is unlikely to make it through waivers if the Jets decide not to keep him on their 53-man roster. He has one of the strongest resumes among UDFAs, and he is augmenting it with his preseason production. Those are the types of players who teams scramble to claim in late August.

If the Jets want Edwards to be a part of their future, they will probably have to keep him on their initial 53-man roster.

It will be tough to fit him in. The Jets have three roster locks at his position. They are also likely to retain fullback Andrew Beck.

However, because of Beck’s versatility to play tight end, the Jets may be able to get by with two tight ends.

Three tight ends are currently expected to make the team: Mason Taylor, Jeremy Ruckert, and Stone Smartt. Taylor, a second-round rookie, is the only lock.

Ruckert has been struggling in camp and the preseason. Smartt is more of a quasi-wide receiver than a traditional tight end, which could hurt his chances in a scheme that prioritizes blocking skills at tight end.

With Beck essentially serving as another tight end, could the Jets surprisingly release Ruckert or Smartt to make way for Edwards?

If Edwards continues ascending, he will undoubtedly be viewed as a better player and prospect than Ruckert and Smart. Would the Jets really cut ties with a promising young back just to squeeze a third mediocre tight end onto the roster?

They very well could do exactly that – in fact, I would still expect them to. Going with only two pure tight ends is a risky move for a team that wants to run plenty of multi-tight end packages. Somebody has to play extremely well to force the Jets into making that decision.

Edwards is on the road to doing just that.

If there is a roster-bubble skill position player who performs well enough to force the Jets to keep them, Beck’s versatility is the cheat code that could buy New York the extra roster spot they need. Anybody could end up being that standout player who convinces the Jets to keep them over a third tight end, but at the moment, Edwards is making the strongest case.

At this point in time, Edwards likely remains on track to find an NFL home elsewhere. However, with two more preseason performances like the one he had in Green Bay, the Jets would be remiss not to find a way to keep him.