The Pittsburgh Steelers have a crowded running back room right now, with the recent additions of Jonathan Ward and La’Mical Perine, and the team also has Aaron Shampklin on a futures contract and undrafted free agent Daijun Edwards. Edwards was the lead back at Georgia last season, running for 880 yards and 13 touchdowns, and he’s competing with Ward, Perine, and Shampklin for the fourth running back job on Pittsburgh’s roster if they wind up carrying four. During an interview with Bo Marchionte of College2Pro.com, Edwards said he believes he can do everything needed to succeed as a running back.
“I can do everything out of the backfield,” Edwards said. “I’m a shifty back, and I can catch the ball pretty well. I can run routes and block pretty well. So, just being a complete back and good special teams’ player.”
Special teams are likely going to be Edwards’ path to playing time, as it’s something that Ward has a lot of experience with and Perine had the most special teams experience of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs last season. As a runner, Edwards watched a lot of Le’Veon Bell, and while his testing numbers caused him to go undrafted, he’s a tough player to bring down on the field.
Edwards can also make his mark as a receiver, with 20 receptions for Georgia last season. However, I wouldn’t expect him to necessarily excel as a receiver out of the backfield at the NFL level. Still, he certainly does have a lot of traits to make him a complete back and someone who could stick on the roster.
It’s way too early to tell whether or not Edwards could do enough to make the roster, but the Steelers are certainly going to give him a look. They’re going to want to limit the touches of Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, and Cordarrelle Patterson during offseason workouts and training camp to prevent injuries. That will give Edwards the opportunity to show why he deserves a roster spot The team also liked what they saw out of Ward at rookie minicamp, where he participated on a tryout basis, hence why they brought him in on a one-year deal.
With Edwards being the youngest back in the room, he could make a push to stick with Pittsburgh on the basis of his upside, especially if he can show special teams ability. Whoever wins the job likely won’t see many reps on offense, so proving their worth on special teams is going to be the most important thing to make the roster. Edwards played special teams at Georgia before 2023, spending time as the up man and also playing coverage snaps. If that experience translates to success in the NFL, Edwards certainly could find himself on Pittsburgh’s final 53-man roster.
