The 2018 season couldn’t have started any worse for Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman.
In the early part of June 2018, Edelman was hit with a four-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. Edelman tore his ACL Week 3 of the 2017 preseason and was in the process of rehabbing his knee when the positive sample was obtained by the league. He missed all 19 of the Patriots’ games last season and was staring down another four-game absence.
Many players wouldn’t have been able to overcome the criticism and scrutiny that can follow a PED scandal, but Edelman was able to persevere. He held himself accountable for the positive test and apologized.
When asked about the suspension during training camp, Edelman replied, “It’s disappointing with the penalty and the findings. I’m definitely accountable for that. But ultimately my focus is going out and trying to work my knee and get better each day. It was tough last year, watching your team go out and play great football without you.’’
Julian put his head down, embraced the new challenge, and went to work. He was Mr. Reliable all season, serving as Tom Brady’s go-to guy when it mattered most. He dominated the postseason once again, destroying the Chargers with nine catches for 151 yards in the divisional round. In the AFC Championship game in Kansas City, Edelman led the team with 96 yards on seven catches. Edelman capped off the brilliant run with 10 catches for 141 yards against the Rams and was named the Super Bowl MVP.
The Super Bowl itself was a defensive battle filled with miscues and missed opportunities. Jared Goff looked like he was fooled by the stellar play of the New England defense, while Tom Brady was skipping passes to his receivers. The only player on either offense that actually came through was Julian Edelman.
Time after time, Brady went to Edelman when he needed a big play. Eight of his 10 receptions came on 3rd down to help keep the clock running and the offense on the field. Edelman had seven catches in the first half, with four of them accounting for Brady’s six passes of 10 plus yards. He made a crucial 13-yard reception that led to a two-yard touchdown run by Sony Michel on the lone touchdown drive of the game.
He repeatedly beat and abused whoever was covering him, especially Nickell Robey-Coleman. There was no one that could cover him and it was obvious to anyone watching that he was the best offensive player on the field and the most deserving man for MVP.
Edelman was so deserving of the Super Bowl MVP, and so consistent throughout the playoffs, that the debate has sparked about whether he should be considered for the Hall of Fame.
Since Wes Welker left in 2013, the Patriots are 11-2 in postseason games with Edelman healthy and playing. In that same time frame, he averages 103 yards per game in the playoffs, which is third most behind Julio Jones and Larry Fitzgerald. He went into Super Bowl LIII with the second-most career postseason receptions, with his 10 catches putting him at 115 for his career. That leaves him 36 receptions shy of Jerry Rice’s 151 receptions.
Surpassing Rice isn’t unthinkable if he remains in New England, but he will most likely come up just short of the greatest wideout to ever play the game. His 141 yards helped him leap over Cliff Branch and Michael Irvin into second all-time in postseason receiving yards. He also trails Rice in that category and is well short of Rice’s 2,245 yards with 1,412 yards of his own.
Some might say that Edelman shouldn’t be considered for the Hall of Fame because of mediocre, yet consistent, regular season numbers. Since taking over the starting slot receiver role in 2013, Edelman has averaged 935 receiving yards and 86 receptions per season.
Those aren’t mind-blowing numbers, but they are solid and worthy of attention. New England’s offensive mindset is as much to blame as anything for the vanilla numbers. The Patriots rarely key in on one guy and feed him the ball every week. Belichick changes his game plan from week to week and even during halftime of games. Whatever is working is what they will go with and they never force the ball to any one player.
Whether you think his regular season numbers are good enough or not, there is something to say for his numbers during Brady’s career. Only Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker have more receptions and receiving yards with Brady at quarterback. He also has the fourth-most regular season touchdowns during Brady’s tenure. In the short time frame he and Brady have played together, Edelman has produced the third-highest receiving numbers in franchise history.
If you take Gronk out of the equation, Welker is the only wide receiver with better regular season numbers than Edelman. He’s also playing for a franchise that will trade star players when they’re up for large contracts and bench starters in Super Bowls. Tom Brady is a legit, no-brainer, first-ballot Hall of Famer. Tom Brady’s second-most productive wide receiver has to be considered for the Hall, plain and simple.
If greatness is measured in championships, then Julian Edelman definitely checks that box. It can’t just be about the wins though, it also has to be about the performance. Edelman steps up when the lights are brightest and is the definition of clutch.
He has the most postseason receptions for first downs and the most third-down receptions since it became a stat. When it’s all said and done, and Edelman decides to retire, sportswriters will have to decide if the most important of games actually matter in deciding who’s in the Hall of Fame.
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