Why the Patriots win:
Edelman played QB in college
Julian Edelman’s rise to Super Bowl MVP epitomizes how the Patriots think outside the box.
❚ Ranking Brady in Super Bowl wins, Page 4
❚ Curtain call for Gronk? Page 5
ATLANTA – The first time Patriots coach Bill Belichick got a look at Julian Edelman, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with him. Rick Gosselin, a sportswriter formerly at The Dallas Morning News, had tipped Belichick off to go take a look at the 5-foot-10 Kent State quarterback, who almost certainly wouldn’t play that position in the NFL but might have value somewhere else.
“I knew (Gosselin) followed the draft closely,” Belichick said. “That kind of got us going on him a little bit.”
The Patriots sent one scout up to Kent State to take a look at him. When the reviews came back positive, they sent a second just to make sure. Ultimately, New England took him in the seventh round of the 2009 draft, No. 232 overall, even though it wasn’t totally clear where his skills would translate. They played him at corner. They put him on special teams. Eventually they moved him to receiver, all new skills for someone who spent his whole life running an offense.
A decade later, it has turned into the quintessential Patriots story as Edelman was named MVP of their 13-3 victory over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII.
“Julian epitomizes the mental toughness, physical toughness, determination and will and just extraordinary ability to perform under pressure,” Belichick said Feb. 4. “We have so many guys who do that well in so many different ways, and he’s truly in the mold of one of the great versatile Patriots like Troy Brown, Mike Vrabel, guys like that who’ve done it through the years.
“I’m so personally happy for Julian, and it’s so rewarding for me to see the success he’s
achieved and be recognized for last night.”
When people ask, “How do the Patriots keep doing it?” well, this is how. The NFL is a neverending conveyor belt of talent, and most teams just end up drafting different versions of the same player. New England, though, has had a unique ability to identify players whose skill sets don’t always fit into a traditional box.
Dynasties are built on stars such as Tom Brady, sure, but they’re sustained by players like Edelman, whose value is both simple and fundamental: He gets open. And in a season when Brady didn’t put up the same big-play numbers as he did in 2017 when Edelman was out with a torn ACL, that proved to be valuable in the postseason.
In three playoff games, he practically couldn’t be covered: 10 catches for 141 yards against the Rams, seven for 96 yards against the Chiefs and nine for 151 yards against the Chargers.
“I remember as a rookie, it was like 11 at night and by the grace of God (he and Belichick) were walking out at the same time and I had probably said maybe three words to him before that at the time,” Edelman recalled. “I had seen him on the treadmill watching film late at night, and I said, ‘Coach, you sure like football, huh?’ And he said, ‘It beats being a plumber, see ya tomorrow.’
“When you see that at the time and he’s a three-time Super Bowl-winning head coach, it’s going to rub off and if it doesn’t you’re probably not going to be there.”
The NFL, of course, is everchanging. The Patriots turned over one-third of their roster last year and could face another overhaul this season. With the combine and draft season on the way, it will be up to Belichick and his staff to find the next Edelman to keep this dynasty going years into the future.