I’m going to miss watching Julian Edelman play football for the Patriots.
I thought Bill Belichick’s quote upon Edelman’s retirement Monday hit the mark for one of the grittiest and most coachable players he ever had.
Among other glowing comments, here’s some of what the venerable football lifer had to say: "By any measure of what constitutes an elite NFL career — wins, championships, production — Julian has it all," Belichick said. "Few players can match Julian's achievements, period, but considering his professional trajectory and longevity, the group is even more select. It is historic. This is a tribute to his legendary competitiveness, mental and physical toughness, and will to excel."
Right on, Coach.
Over the last couple of days I’ve been compiling some of my own thoughts about Edelman, what I’ll miss, admire and hope to see again in players that come through New England from this day forward. What’s not to like? In terms of being easy to root for, Edelman cornered the market. He is the quintessential underdog and achieved beyond any prognosticator’s wildest dreams. He also did so in the sport where physically, it’s the hardest to be an underdog in. Against many physical odds, Edelman consistently bested his competition through sheer will, grit, dedication, fighting spirit, attitude, desire, heart and an unparalleled sense of both team and duty. He was loyal and had wildly underrated skill. That’s right, skill.
With all due respect to some of my all-time favorite Patriots like Troy Brown, James White, Wes Welker and Kevin Faulk, I never felt more confident in 3rd-and-clutch situations then when Edelman was on the field. He was consistently targeted when the need was most high and when the situation was the most critical. The defense he was facing knew the ball was coming his way, prepared for it and yet, there was very little they were ever able to do about it.
That’s skill.
As a 40-plus-year Pats fan, I used to fear third-down. Edelman made third-down conversions a habitual after thought. He consistently got open in the tightest of spaces against bigger, faster and athletically superior defenders who knew it was coming. Yet, he would still get it done and do so with a margin of milliseconds.
How many times have you heard the Gillette Stadium PA Announcer shout, “Pass was complete to Julian Edelman. That’s good for another Patriots… (Enter the crowd) FIRST DOOOOWN!”
Too numerous to count.
Converting on third-down wins football games and that’s what Edelman did. Convert in the situations that demanded it and win football games. Welker was great at this too and has the statistical edge across all of the traditional metrics and measurements, but with the game on the line, gimme Jules over Welker, every time.
Here are some other things I will miss about Edelman:
Even during the height of the national Patriots fatigue and collective hate, Edelman was always cool to like.
As a fantasy football enthusiast and content contributor in the industry, I’ve met people from all over the country that literally eat and breathe football and little else. If you think that Edelman’s popularity ends at the boundaries of New England’s six states think differently. In my experience, pretty much everyone digs Edelman (even if they don’t want to admit it).
For many years on the WEEI Fantasy Football Hour, each week my co-host Pete Davidson and I would award an offensive player in the NFL with the distinction of being “The Player with the most Moxie.” (Thank you Moxie Soda.) The running joke was that pretty much every week it was Julian Edelman. It literally felt weird awarding it to anyone else because nobody had more grit or moxie than him. During the weeks when Edelman was injured, Phillip ‘Pip’ Rivers would often dawn that venerable crown but it was like a mouse getting some cheese when the cat was asleep. That was always Edelman’s award pretty much any week he played.
Speaking of awards I want to weigh in on the Hall of Fame conversation. Here’s how I see it. Edelman’s career accomplishments, particularly in the postseason absolutely merit his consideration but it ends there for me though. He’s a consideration. He’s more than earned that, but to be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame where the absolute elite of the elite belong, he falls a little short due to his lack of Pro Bowls (0), All-Pro distinctions (0) and compiled regular season statistics.
I will say this, however: If the Pro Football Writers elect Eli Manning to the Hall, whom for several reasons that I chronicled here upon his retirement: Eli Manning is not Hall of Fame quarterback, then Edelman should get in. The other Manning brothers’ only path to the Hall is based on his two prolific postseason performances that led to two Super Bowl Championships over the Patriots. That’s it. As documented in my column from September 2019, Eli falls short in every other way and it’s not even close. A middling, .500 quarterback with a bottomless floor and zero elite level statistical accomplishments. Edelman’s accomplishments dwarf Eli’s, so if he gets in then Edelman deserves his gold jacket, too.
All things being equal though, the Hall of Fame jacket that best suits Edelman is the red one, awaiting him in the hallowed halls of Foxboro. In that Hall, Edelman belongs in the front row.
Regardless of what jacket he wears in retirement, I’m glad he was ours for so long and I’m glad it both began and ended here.