“Donovan Edwards describes himself as a complete running back and the amount of offers he already has support his well-rounded ability out of the backfield. With enough speed to leave defenders diving at air and power to grind out yards, Edwards even led West Bloomfield in receiving yards last fall. “Just being able to do pretty much everything on the field,” Edwards said. “Move me out to receiver if you have to. I can go on deep routes; I can take care of the box, you know what I’m saying?”
He was a Metro Detroit Dream Team selection this last fall and a Division 1-2 all-state selection by the Associated Press as the Lakers made it to the Division 1 region championships and finished with a 10-2 record. He is ranked No. 2 in MLive’s top 50 football recruits in Michigan for 2021. In 2019, he carried the ball 161-1,239-16 touchdowns. He also had 33-419-5 through the air.” – MLive
Edwards reminds me of Texas RB, Keaontay Ingram. As a recruit, Ingram reminded me of Alvin Kamara. The shared similarities are in their builds, but even more so in their abilities to be difference-makers as pass-catchers. That is the future of the college and NFL games, and its’ something that I covet in fantasy prospects. Being one of the top backs in the country, Edwards already has more than forty scholarship offers from the top schools in the nation. Early reports indicate that he is leaning heavily towards either Michigan or Georgia. His first offer was from Michigan, which is his hometown team. While I’m not crazy about Michigan’s offensive staff, he would likely see playing time as a freshman and have the opportunity to be their breadwinner as both a sophomore and a junior. Based on his interviews that I’ve listened to, he seems to have a mature, level-headed approach where he’s weighing the pedigree of program and ability for him to see the field early. Wise.
Aside from his outstanding receiving abilities, Edwards possesses good size for a high school player. At 5’10” and 203-pounds, he’s got the frame to get up over 215-pounds, which is ideal for his NFL future. I’ve never seen a full panel of athletic testing for him, but he’s jumped a verified 33-inches in the vert. I guess that he runs in the mid 4.5s in the 40, and he moves well laterally. As a sophomore, he missed most of the season with an ankle injury, so that will be worth monitoring in the future. Overall, I like Edwards’ tape more than most of the backs that I scouted in the 2020 recruiting cycle. I’m hoping he ends up at a program with a favorable depth chart and with an OC that fully utilizes him as a receiver.
