Wolverine Digest

New York Jets' RB Donovan Edwards named 'winner' of rookie minicamp

The Michigan football RB impressed during rookie minicamp
Trent Knoop|
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Michigan WolverinesNew York Jets

Michigan football RB Donovan Edwards fell out of the 2025 NFL Draft after a subpar senior season in Ann Arbor. But the four-year Wolverine has been impressing during the New York Jets' rookie minicamp. Jets reporter Nick Faria with 'Jet X' put together a list of 'winners and losers' during New York's rookie minicamp. The undrafted rookie was one of Faria's winners.

If Smith was the biggest winner of the 2025 draft class, then Michigan running back Donovan Edwards was the biggest winner of the undrafted group in attendance this week for the Jets. Edwards doesn’t have blazing speed, but he showed patience and good maneuverability to find gaping holes during 11-on-11 work. He is bottlenecked by his position at this point, but Edwards is going to make things very interesting moving forward in the running back room.
Nick Faria

While Edwards' senior season didn't go as planned after backing up Kalel Mullings, Edwards had a breakout sophomore campaign, which showed what he's capable of. Following Blake Corum's injury in 2022, Edwards had three consecutive games of at least 119 yards on the ground -- including a game against rival Ohio State. But it's not just his running ability that gives New York hope. The former five-star RB has great hands and has an ability to catch out of the backfield.

In 2021, his freshman season, Edwards caught 10 passes for 170 yards and a score against Maryland. While that wasn't the norm, the talent was there, and Michigan never chose to use Edwards in that role for the final three seasons he was in Ann Arbor. Now, with the Jets, Breece Hall is the clear top back, but Edwards could find himself a role with the Jets as a pass-catching back.

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Trent Knoop
TRENT KNOOP

Trent began writing and covering Michigan athletics back in 2020. He became a credentialed member of the media in 2021. Trent began writing with Sports Illustrated in 2023 and became the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI during the 2025 football season. Trent also serves as the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI. His other bylines have appeared on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.

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