Elijah Southwick
Georgia RB Daijun Edwards declared for the 2024 NFL Draft following his senior season. Edwards and the Bulldogs didn’t secure what would’ve been an incredible National Championship three-peat in 2023, but Edwards is nevertheless bringing a championship pedigree into the NFL.
Edwards is coming off a senior season in which he eclipsed 1,000 scrimmage yards while sharing the backfield with RB Kendall Milton. His 880 rushing yards ranked eighth in the SEC in 2023, and he punched in a career-high 13 touchdowns. Edwards is an accomplished between the tackles runner and may just be scratching the surface of his talents as a football player. He had only a small role as a true freshman and sophomore at Georgia, and in today’s era of college football, it’s worth noting that he spent his entire college career with the Bulldogs.
It’s no secret that the SEC is the most talented conference in the nation, and Georgia’s incredible three year run came against the country’s toughest competition. Despite Edwards’ accomplishments with the top program in college football, he isn’t getting much draft buzz. According to nflmockdraftdatabase.com, Edwards is the 243rd ranked prospect in the 2024 NFL draft class. While the running back class is undoubtedly deep, few running backs were tested at the level Edwards was in college. Had he not been sharing the backfield with Kendall Milton, a fellow NFL hopeful who posted 790 rushing yards in 2023, his production could’ve been eye-popping.
When I watch Edwards, I see a runner with good vision, power, balance, quickness, and a natural ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s an NFL ready product. If the draft were held today, he’d be an incredible value in the later rounds on Day 3. With the Senior Bowl, his pro day and the NFL Combine still to come, I think it’s very likely his draft stock could rise to rounds four or five. It’s hard to predict a running back in today’s draft landscape getting third round draft capital or better, but the draft is very difficult to predict, especially this far out.
With several NFL teams lacking talent on their running back depth charts, this class is sure to find work on active NFL rosters. In the right scheme, Edwards could have a successful career as a committee back or better. As we’ve seen with the likes of Isiah Pacheco, Keaton Mitchell, Jerome Ford and others, talented running backs can emerge from all different types of college conferences and draft status. With Edwards, you’re getting a profile with good production from an elite conference with plenty of tape to support a rise up NFL draft boards this spring. He’s a player I’ll be keeping a close eye on as he begins his pro football career.