2024 NFL Draft Pittsburgh Steelers UDFA Scouting Report: Georgia RB Daijun Edwards

Profiling the Pittsburgh Steelers’ undrafted free agents we didn’t have pre-draft reports on. Today, a scouting report on Georgia RB Daijun Edwards.

#30 Daijun Edwards/RB Georgia – 5095, 207 pounds (Senior)

Senior Bowl/NFL Scouting Combine

MEASUREMENTS

*All Pro Day Measurements/Testing

The Good

– Short but stocky with muscle
– Intriguing balance of quickness and contact balance, fun stop/start ability
– Impressive laterally, changing directions and bouncing down a gap
– Annoyingly hard to tackle, makes defenders miss in a booth with his lateral movement
– Runs tough with leg drive
– Balanced and stays on feet through contact; defenders roll off him
– Stout and fearless in pass pro, squares up and anchors and does well to ID rush
– Short height allows him to run low
– Patient and displays good vision to find hole and press linebackers into making them wrong
– Competent receiver who can make defenders in flat whiff
– Displays good ball security
– Solid production
– Quality special teams experience and value

The Bad

– Not dynamic, medium-yardage runner who lacks long speed
– Doesn’t display second gear, one-speed runner with slow 40 time
– Has trouble turning good runs into great runs, won’t run past third-level defenders
– Runs tough but lacks overwhelming power
– Limited and short route tree
– Occasionally will look to dance and get horizontal when he should plow forward; usually occurs in open grass and will try to do a little too much
– Poor athletic testing

Bio

– 23 years old
– 10 starts for Bulldogs
– Career: 390 carries, 2,083 yards (5.3 YPC) 24 TDs, 37 receptions
– 2023: 164 carries, 881 yards (5.4 YPC), 20 receptions, leading team in rushing
– Two career kick returns, both in 2022
– 124 special teams snaps in 2022 (49 on coverage teams), 148 special teams snaps in 2021 (107 on kick coverage)
– Four-star recruit from Moultrie, Ga., chose UGA over Arkansas, Penn State, and Florida State among others
– Seven siblings, oldest by seven years

Tape Breakdown

Daijun Edwards quietly led the powerhouse Georgia Bulldogs in rushing last season, turning that into a contract with the Steelers. Edwards is a short back but runs with tenacity and was a challenge to tackle last season. His lateral quickness and low center of gravity causes defenders to slip or bounce off him. Edwards has good feet and can make successive cuts to jump out of a gap and then get vertical. This was consistent across his tape in a booth and in space.

And he shows generally good contact balance to stay on his feet through contact. He runs low and is patient with a touch of Le’Veon Bell wait wait wait in his game, though it helped running behind a top Bulldogs o-line. His pass pro is also stout and strong and advanced.

Importantly, Edwards brings special teams value. Lots of time as a blocker/up-man on the return team with a ton of coverage snaps, too. The coaching staff took him off special teams for 2023 but prior to that, even while seeing a decent offensive role in 2022, he was a four-down player.

Negatively, Edwards isn’t explosive. Not much burst, very little long speed. He could break into the second level but wouldn’t outrun anyone in the third level. He was the king of the 8-yard run. Just as one data point, he had just two touchdown runs longer than 10 yards and his longest was only a 20-yard score. Comparatively, fellow RB Kendall Milton averaged more than one yard per carry more than Edwards with a 33-yard touchdown run.

Conclusion

Daijun Edwards is a tough runner with good quickness and can pass protect with special teams chops. That all creates value. While Pittsburgh’s running back depth chart is settled at the top three, practice squad spots are still open. Edwards’ lack of dynamism is a problem and he’ll probably average 3.1 YPC in the preseason but there will be some highlights. And he can offer a little bit of everything else to the roster.