NFL Player News

Yarns is slated to sign with the Saints as an undrafted free agent, John Hendrix of AthlonSports.com reports.

Yarns didn't hear his name called during the 2025 NFL Draft, but he appears to have a path to earn a spot on the Saints' 53-man roster for the upcoming regular season. He was named to the First Team All-CAA roster in his final season in Delaware despite missing two games due to a leg injury, and he finished the 2024 campaign with 133 carries for 844 yards and six touchdowns while adding 17 catches for 297 yards and five scores. Edwards struggles to brush off contact within the tackles, but he's a strong outside runner in the open field and brings versatility as a pass catcher out of the backfield.

Edwards is slated to sign with the Jets as an undrafted free agent, Ben Standig of The Athletic reports.

Edwards spent his four-year college career with Michigan. His best season came in 2022, when he rushed for 991 yards and seven touchdowns on 140 carries while adding 18 catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Once viewed as a potential top-100 pick, Edwards saw his YPC dip from 7.1 in 2022 to 4.4 over the 2023-24 seasons. He displayed a lack of patience while manoeuvring around the trenches, but his quickness and pass-catching ability give him a chance at cracking the Jets' 53-man roster. If the signing is official, Edwards will use OTAs and training camp to compete with Isaiah Davis, Kene Nwangwu and Zach Evans for a depth spot in the running back room behind Breece Hall and Braelon Allen.

The Commanders selected Croskey-Merritt in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 245th overall.

Croskey-Merritt parlayed an impressive 2023 season at New Mexico (1,190 yards, 17 touchdowns) into a spot in Arizona's backfield in 2024. However, eligibility issues derailed his season after just one game (106 yards, one touchdown). That hurt Croskey-Merritt's ability to put one more impressive season on tape. Croskey-Merritt is older for a running back prospect (24), but his production was promising at New Mexico, and he showed to be a rugged runner there. He's a north-south type of back who won't help much in the passing game but could still push for a roster spot in Washington.

The Cowboys selected Mafah in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 239th overall.

Dallas covered its bases with running back selections Day 3. In Jaydon Blue (fifth round), the Cowboys got one of the speediest backs in the class. Mafah brings the thump at 6-foot-1 and 234 pounds. He split the backfield work with Will Shipley at Clemson in 2023 and took 179 carries for 965 yards and 13 scores. As the feature back in 2024, Mafah's workload swelled to 216 carries for 1,115 yards and eight touchdowns. Mafah is far from a speedster but can carve out a role as a short-yardage specialist. Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders will likely see the bulk of the action this season, but a Mafah-Blue backfield could be interesting in the future.

The Jaguars selected Allen in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 236th overall.

The Jaguars drafted running back Bhayshul Tuten in the fourth round, so Allen enters a crowded backfield that already had Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby. Allen declared for the NFL Draft after three years at Syracuse, two of which he served as the starter. Over those two seasons, Allen produced 2,085 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns on 473 carries (4.4 YPC) in addition to 102 receptions for 731 yards and five touchdowns. While Allen handled a hefty workload in college and started 27 straight games, his frame (6-foot, 204 pounds) and upright running style will make it difficult to maintain such a role in the NFL. Nevertheless, Allen adds versatility to the Jaguars' backfield, as he naturally catches balls and makes plays out of the backfield while also showing an ability to line up as a receiver.

The Bears selected Monangai in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 233rd overall.

Monangai may be a seventh-rounder, but he should still be on the fantasy radar thanks to landing in Chicago. Beyond that, Monangai is a talented, physical runner who took on heavy workloads at Rutgers. He ran for over 1,200 yards each of the last two seasons with at least 240 carries in those campaigns. Monangai offers next to nothing in the passing game with 38 career receptions in four seasons, but his rushing ability could still pave the way to a role in Chicago. Remember, the Bears were a popular projection for Ashton Jeanty in the first round and did not touch that position until they nabbed Monangai. D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson sit atop the depth chart for this new coaching staff, but managers should file away Monangai's name as one to watch come training camp.

The Chiefs selected Smith in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 228th overall.

Smith is an intriguing prospect. He had considerable pedigree as a four-star wide receiver and was a special-teams standout with Miami before transferring to SMU for his final collegiate season. He converted to running back with the Mustangs and totaled 1,659 yards from scrimmage with 14 touchdowns. It's difficult to get too excited about the potential for a seventh-round selection to immediately contribute, but Smith will be on a historically strong offense with a relatively open backfield.

The Seahawks selected Martinez in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 223rd overall.

Martinez was the lead back for Miami in 2024 after spending the prior two seasons at Oregon State. He led the Hurricanes with 1,002 yards and 10 touchdowns on 159 carries and added 17 catches for 204 yards across 13 games (10 starts). Martinez runs with authority and will gain yards after contact, but he lacks the burst and elusiveness to make defenders miss in the second level. He'll likely compete with Kenny McIntosh and George Holani for the Seahawks' RB3 job behind Kenneth Walker (ankle) and Zach Charbonnet.

The Bengals selected Brooks in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 193rd overall.

Brooks was a four-year starter at Texas Tech, breaking the school record with 4,560 career rushing yards while posting back-to-back 1,500-yard seasons in his junior and sophomore seasons. He's a compact back with a 5-foot-9, 214-pound frame, and his tempo and vision allows him to navigate through defenses to pick up tough yards. Though he's not the fastest back in the draft, Brooks displayed his quickness at the 2025 NFL Combine with a 4.06-second shuttle time and 6.90-second three-cone time. Chase Brown (ankle) and Zack Moss (neck) are the Bengals' top two running backs, but Brooks will have a shot to compete against veteran Samaje Perine for the No. 3 job.

The Titans selected Mullings in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 188th overall.

Mullings played linebacker for most of his first three seasons at Michigan before focusing on running back for the final two years. In his fifth season, Mullings served as the lead back in a tandem with Donovan Edwards, generating 948 yards and 12 touchdowns on 185 carries (5.1 YPC). He failed to demonstrate pass-catching chops, however, so his path to playing time in Tennessee is hazy behind Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears.