Julian Edelman

Julian Edelman is a wide receiver for the New England Patriots and he has become a favorite target of future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady. Edelman wears jersey number 11.

Youth

Edelman was born and raised in Redwood City, California. He played quarterback for the Woodside High School Wildcats football team in nearby Woodside, CA. His senior year, the Wildcats went undefeated with a 13-0 record. During his career at Woodside, Edelman threw for 2,237 yards with 29 touchdowns. He also ran for 964 yards and 13 touchdowns.

College Career

Edelman started his college career at the College of San Mateo. He threw for 1,312 and 14 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,253 (a school record) and 17 touchdowns. He left the College of San Mateo after his freshman year and transferred to Kent State. In Edelman’s three-year career at Kent State, he passed for 4,997 yards, rushed for 2,483 yards, and scored 52 touchdowns. As a senior, he also caught 6 punt returns for 25 yards.

Here are some of the best plays Edelman made during his Kent State career: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4cBzerSW-c

College Combine

Edelman wasn’t invited to the NFL’s college combine in 2009. Instead, he held a Pro Day workout at Kent State for NFL scouts. His Pro Day numbers were:

40 Time: 4.52 seconds

Bench Press (225 lbs.): 14 reps

Vertical Jump: 36 ½”

Broad Jump: 10’03”

20 Yard Shuttle: 3.92 seconds

3 Cone Drill: 6.62 seconds

The NFL scouts overlooked Edelman’s quarterbacking career and instead rated him as a wide receiver coming out of college. He was rated as the 56^th best WR out of 306 WR’s eligible for the draft.

Edelman was also invited to New England to have a private workout before the 2009 draft.

NFL Draft Position

The New England Patriots used its seventh round pick to draft Edelman. He was originally projected to be a punt/ kickoff return specialist and a spare QB during training camp.

NFL Rookie Season

Edelman missed the first game of the season because of an ankle injury, but he made his presence known the following week with 8 catches for 98 yards against the New York Jets. Edelman also had 38 yards on kickoff and punt returns.

Edelman added another 13 catches to lead all rookies before breaking his arm in a game against the Tennessee Titans. He didn’t play again until November 15^th.

Second Season

Edelman primarily played on special teams where he averaged 15.3 yards per punt and kick return. He had 37 catches for 359 yards and a touchdown on offense. He added another 6 catches for 44 yards and two touchdowns in the Wild Card game.

Third Season

Edelman was again relegated to special team service where he had 584 yards on 40 punt and kickoff returns. However, due to injuries, he got a chance to play in the secondary as a defensive back in several games. Edelman caused the fumble on the Ravens last drive to preserve the win for the Patriots that sent the team to Super Bowl XLVI.

Fourth Season

Edelman finished the season with 21 catches for 235 yards and 301 return yards on kickoffs and punts.

Fifth Season

With his rookie contract ended, Edelman signed a one-year deal to stay with New England. He finished the year with 105 catches for 1,056 yards and 374 yards on 35 punt returns. New England rewarding him with a four-year contract with an average yearly salary of $4.25 million.

Sixth Season

Edelman started 14 games for New England and ended up catching 92 passes for 972 yards. In the Super Bowl that year, Edelman had 9 catches for 109 yards.

Seventh Year

Edelman’s season was shortened due to a foot injury, but he still had 61 receptions for 692 yards with 7 TD’s. He ended up being designated as the 87^th best player in the league in the NFL’s Top 100 Players.

Eighth Year

Edelman had 98 receptions during the regular season for 1,106 yards. Edelman finished the season by making a spectacular catch to keep New England’s game-tying drive alive in the Super Bowl. New England won the game 34-28 against the Atlanta Falcons in overtime.

Career Highlights

Here are some of Edelman’s career highlights leading up to the 2016 season: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW2MOoZBNio

Follow Edelman

You can follow Edelman on Twitter and Instagram. His address is Julian Edelman @edelman11