New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman has been Tom Brady's sidekick alongside Rob Gronkowski for years now. Now, Gronkowski is having his retirement tour in the form of DJ parties this offseason while Brady and Edelman enter their 11th season together.
Edelman began his career with the New England Patriots as a special teams player. First, he was returning kicks and making tackles on kickoffs to contribute to the team.
Fast forward to now, and Edelman is a very reliable wide receiver on one of the most storied franchises in sports history. Just last season, the Patriots wideout had an unforgettable performance in the Super Bowl.
The 32-year old wide receiver caught 10 passes for 141 yards to help seal New England's sixth Super Bowl victory since 2001. His historic performance in Super Bowl 53 landed him Super Bowl MVP and his third championship with the organization.
In 2019, Edelman will want to continue adding onto his legacy as one of the most beloved players in Patriots history. He turns 33 in May, but that doesn't mean anything to a guy who plays with a quarterback who is going to play when he's 100-years old.
Here are three early bold predictions for Julian Edelman in the 2019 NFL season.
3. 1,000+ Receiving Yards
Over the course of his 10-year career, Edelman has never been a “big-play” wide receiver. In his 10 seasons so far in the NFL, Edelman averages 10.8 yards per reception.
The Patriots wide receiver is the definition of a possession wide receiver. In addition, the only thing that separates him from other possession receivers is his ability to move around on the offense.
There are times he may line up on the outside but the very next play he'll be running an out-route from the slot. This is what allows Edelman to be the best version of himself with New England.
Receiving yards are never easy to come by when you're a possession receiver in the NFL. Therefore, Edelman has only had two 1,000-yard seasons in his NFL career.
The last one came in 2016 but Edelman is out to prove everybody he can still produce at a high level in the NFL. Even at 33 years old this upcoming season, it's possible that Edelman eclipses the 1,000-yard mark for the third time in his career.
2. 8+ Receiving Touchdowns
When you think of Edelman, you think of him being Brady's go-to option in important moments. You would think that would equate to plenty of touchdowns for the veteran wideout. Wrong.
In his decade long career, Edelman has never had more than seven touchdowns in a season. Although, he has had six touchdowns twice in his career in 2013 and 2018.
With the addition of N'Keal Harry in this year's draft, the scoring opportunities may be harder to come by for Edelman. Harry may be talented but there's no reason to believe that Brady is going to waver away from his most reliable weapon.
If anything, Harry may take targets away from Edelman and the other offensive weapons but Edelman could see more looks in the red zone. As a result, Edelman could very well achieve his career-high in touchdowns in 2019.
1. Start in All 16 Games
One thing that has eluded Edelman over his long, successful career is the ability to play a whole regular season. Injuries (and a suspension in 2018) have prevented the wideout from being able to last all 16 games of an NFL season.
In 2017, Edelman missed the whole season due to a torn ACL in a preseason game against the Detroit Lions. He wouldn't let that stop him from contributing in a massive way for New England in 2018.
Early in the season, the media was saying that the Patriots lacked weapons and that it would come back to haunt them later in the season. Edelman refused to let that become true as he carried the load for the majority of the season.
Now, the Patriots have added a couple of weapons this offseason that could help take part of the load off of Edelman's back. In turn, it could lead to Edelman remaining healthy throughout the 2019 season, starting in every game for a whole season for the first time in his career.
Follow Us
Subscribe