LA Galaxy 2022 Player Postmortem: Raheem Edwards

Raheem Edwards was one of the offseason newcomers to the LA Galaxy in 2022, coming from LAFC after a well-traveled career around MLS. The Canadian international broke through in the league at Toronto FC, where he was a young winger with perhaps the best on-field skills around.

I always wondered why he had moved so much, he was a player over time who moved all over midfield, up into the forward line and as a fullback, and by the time he was with LAFC, he was a jack of all trades, playing in nearly every position on the field. But he was a talented player who didn’t seem to have solidified a spot in the starting lineup. Enter the Galaxy.

With Jorge Villafaña out for the season with a knee injury, Edwards slotted in as the Galaxy left back on opening day and scarcely looked back. While his defensive performances were inconsistent at times, he became the team’s de facto playmaker early in the season and very much played like a modern attacking fullback. In short, it appears he’s found his home.

Here are Edwards’ competitive stats with LA in 2022:

As a sign of how important the fullbacks ended up being, Edwards (6 in regular season play) and Julian Araujo (9 in regular season play) led LA in assists in 2022. While a fullback has to defend — and to be fair, Edwards had some very good defensive performances this season — the attacking element is also vital and Edwards is particularly suited for that part of the game.

This comes through in his scouting report graph on FBref.com. Not only comparing fullbacks in MLS, but across eight comparable leagues, Edwards actually had a stellar season by the advanced stats. This is about as green a graph as you’ll see from all but the superstars.

FBref.com

The Galaxy brought in Chase Gasper, a more defensive-minded left back, during the season, and I think that was the right call on paper. They needed to have more than one option to keep things fresh and to have different profiles in that position. But in looking through the players’ season, Edwards definitely excelled overall and deserved the playing time he got.

Here’s the biggest highlight of the season for him, his golazo, which to me was the Galaxy goal of the season:

All in all, Edwards finally came into his own in 2022, and I think he should remain a key player next season, too. He’s under contract for 2023 and hopefully the reps he’s gotten in one spot has helped him hone his defensive game over the past year. But he’s got skills that left backs don’t often have, and his ability to not only push into the attack but to get production to keep things ticking over for the Galaxy, at all times. He’s only 27 and honestly could really move forward if he further establishes himself at the position in 2023. In other words, Raheem Edwards is a keeper and there’s a good chance he’s really only getting started.

What do you think? Leave a comment below.