Saints 2017 Year in Review: Trey Edmunds

Trey Edmunds was one of the roster surprises of the 2017 preseason, when the running back made the New Orleans Saints roster as an undrafted rookie free agent. The Saints have unearthed gems with undrafted players at running back before, particularly in the Sean Payton era. Pierre Thomas, Chris Ivory, and Khiry Robinson have all had success in New Orleans as undrafted players.

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Trey Edmunds has good NFL bloodlines. His father, Farrell Edmunds, was a collegiate star at Maryland, and a Pro Bowl tight end with the Miami Dolphins through the late 1980's and early 1990's. Trey began his college career with promise at Virginia Tech, where he displayed a good blend of power and speed on his way to 675 rushing yards and 12 offensive touchdowns as a freshman. His next two seasons were marred by injury, and Edmunds transferred to Maryland for his senior season, where he was only able to appear in five games. He did impress the Saints enough to bring him on for a chance in the preseason. His offensive statistics were modest, 15 rushes for 44 yards and one reception for 22 yards. It was his play on special teams that stood out to the New Orleans coaches, and earned him a back up running back position over some of the more experienced players in camp.

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Edmunds played 285 special teams snaps during the 2017 season, second most on the team, and ranked 3rd in special teams tackles, while returning 3 kicks for a 21.7 average. He also had an opportunity to showcase his abilities as a runner during a week ten victory at Buffalo. Late in the 4th quarter of the Saints 47-10 victory, Edmunds took a handoff and showed nice vision and burst down the left side for a 41-yd. touchdown and his first professional score. Trey Edmunds will have an opportunity this offseason to cement his spot as a back up to the explosive running back tandem of Mark Ingram and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Alvin Kamara. His younger brothers, linebacker Tremaine and safety Terrell Edmunds, are both expected to be first or second day draft picks this spring out of Virginia Tech, while Trey hopes to add to the legacy of successful New Orleans running backs who went undrafted.