Is Chase Edmonds a top-25 running back? Not according to a recent list

Does Chase Edmonds of the Arizona Cardinals deserve to be ranked among the 25 best running backs in the NFL?

Following the departure of David Johnson during the 2020 offseason, Arizona Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds saw a significant increase in his playing time last year.

Edmonds was on the field last season for more than double the amount of offensive snaps he had in 2019. Unsurprisingly, his increased involvement resulted in him setting new career highs for rushing yards, catches, and receiving yards.

With Kenyan Drake joining the Las Vegas Raiders back in March, some believe Edmonds will be able to make an even bigger leap for the Cardinals in 2021.

Do the Arizona Cardinals have a top-25 NFL running back on their current roster?

To help make up for the loss of Drake this year, Arizona went out and signed former Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner in April.

But even with the addition of Conner, who has scored 26 touchdowns in the last three seasons, the assumption by most is that Edmonds will still open up the 2021 campaign as the Cardinals’ top back.

So with the improvements he made last year, combined with his expectations for the upcoming season, where does Edmonds deserve to be ranked among the rest of the running backs in the NFL?

Well, NFL.com’s Maurice Jones-Drew recently released his list of the top-32 running backs in the league heading into the 2021 campaign, and in the No. 26 slot is where he placed Edmonds.

On the fourth-year Arizona running back, Jones-Drew says he will “have to show he’s durable and explosive enough to hold the RB1 spot. I haven’t seen him do that just yet but I believe he can.”

Some of the notable players who ranked above Edmonds on the list included Raheem Mostert of the San Francisco 49ers (25), Melvin Gordon of the Denver Broncos (24), Mike Davis of the Atlanta Falcons (23), D’Andre Swift of the Detroit Lions (22), and Leonard Fournette of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (21).

When the 2021 season comes to a close, will Edmonds still be ranked outside of the top 25, or will he do enough out on the field to earn a more respectable spot on the list?