After a notable performance in a Super Bowl victory for New England, Julian Edelman is gaining more attention and praise. With 10 catches and 141 receiving yards, the 32-year-old receiver won Super Bowl MVP to go along with his third championship. Since then, people have been debating on whether the former Kent State quarterback is a Hall of Famer or not at this point in his career.
Some point to the accomplishments and playoff performances as an indicator that he's worthy of this honor. On the opposition, critics believe his numbers aren't meeting what is required of what it takes to be in the Hall.
It's unsure how much longer he will be playing in the league for, so it's hard to indicate what his career will look like at the end. With that being said, let's look at Edelman's career thus far and see his Hall of Fame relevancy.
Accomplishments
Edelman is someone that's been a big part of the Patriots since being drafted by them in 2009. He flourished once given a chance to be a critical part of the offense when Wes Welker went to the Denver Broncos.
As of now, he's a three-time Super Bowl champion and the latest Super Bowl MVP in four trips (2017 he was out for the season with an ACL tear) to the big game. These are the same as the great Jerry Rice who's also in the Hall of Fame.
Both came up big for both of their teams in the most crucial game of the year. However, the statistics aren't comparable when looking at both of them. Rice put together 33 catches for 589 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in his four Super Bowl trips with the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders. Edelman has put together 24 catches for 337 receiving yards and one touchdown.
However, his big-play ability in these moments can't go unnoticed. His latest performance in Super Bowl LIII included eight catches that went for first downs in a low-scoring contest. He was instrumental in every scoring drive they had. To go along with this, he came away with nine catches for 109 yards and one touchdown in Super Bowl XLIX that got the Patriots over the Seahawks. And he was important in keeping New England's Super Bowl hopes in their comeback against the Falcons with his two-point conversion catch and incredible catch on the game-tying drive.
OH MY GOD, JULIAN EDELMAN! #SB51 #Patriots https://t.co/YtvHwsaCbT
— NFL (@NFL) February 6, 2017
He's had big plays to go along with his accomplishments. However, no Pro Bowls or All-Pro selections to his credit. A lot of this is due to his statistics in the regular season.
Statistics
Looking at the numbers in the regular season, he doesn't have the credentials of a Hall of Fame receiver just yet. After the 2018 season, Edelman has put up 499 catches for 5,390 yards and 30 touchdowns. He's had just three seasons with 90 or more receptions (one with 100 or more), and two seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards. He only ranked in the top ten for receptions three times (2013, 2014, and 2016) and two of those times he ranked in the top five (2013 and 2016 ranked fourth both times).
These aren't the regular season statistics of a Hall of Famer. Many players like Art Monk, Tim Brown, Andre Reed, and Cris Carter had to wait years before they were let into the Hall. All of these players weren't blessed with the same amount of postseason success as Julian Edelman. However, their numbers far surpass what the New England receiver has put together in his ten-year career thus far.
More modern receivers like Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens, and Randy Moss had to wait a year despite their immense stats and impact to the league.
But, then again, it's still the playoffs where he shines the most.
The Kent State product ranks second in both career receptions and receiving yards in the playoffs with 115 and 1,412. He's only second to Jerry Rice once again with these numbers.
Edelman is truly blessed with the success of the Patriots getting into the playoffs consistently. However, the numbers are still not up to par. Granted, he did miss all of the 2017 season with a season-ending injury. But even with the statistics he puts together, it's still not enough.
He's ending his tenth season in the league and will be 33 years old in the 2019 year. He will need to stay healthy and productive for much longer if he wants to make a case with his numbers.
Julian Edelman's Story
Some players get the benefit of the doubt based on what they've overcome. Despite shortened careers or injury that ends everything, the impact that a player can have is something that can get someone in.
- Kurt Warner went from bagging groceries to winning the MVP and Super Bowl for the St. Louis Rams.
- Gale Sayers only played in the league for seven years because of an injury that ended his career, but before that he changed the league forever.
- Joe Namath had more interceptions than touchdowns (173-220 ratio) and was just 50.1 percent passing, but was such a personality and impacted league by leading the first AFC team to a Super Bowl win and changed the way we view sports athletes.
Julian Edelman is no different. He went to Kent State as a transfer from the College of San Mateo with no division-one scholarship offers given to him as a quarterback. He went on to break the school's single-season total offense record his senior year.
After his time in college was done and he was getting ready to go into the Draft, he wasn't invited to the combine. Edelman didn't get any looks from anyone except for the Patriots who drafted him in the seventh-round at 232nd overall.
He was used in any way possible for the Patriots. From being used as the primary punt returner to even being used as a defensive back because of injuries to New England's secondary. Edelman wouldn't be given his chance to shine until Wes Welker went down with an injury.
Once given the chance to be the team's possession receiver, he was a critical piece in helping the Patriots offensive attack. His precise route running and scrappy play made him a great replacement for Welker.
Edelman went on to be a major reason for the team's three championships in five years and earning a Super Bowl MVP award.
His story is something that will warrant consideration from the Hall of Fame committee. But it's still much more than that.
Is Julian Edelman a Hall of Famer?
Is his story something out of a movie? Yes.
Does he have a lot of playoff success? Absolutely.
Should he be considered for the Hall of Fame? He should.
But is he a Hall of Famer? No.
The numbers aren't there. Especially for a receiver. His success in the playoffs is a factor of the Patriots always making it into the playoffs and having success. Sure he's a reason for the production. But when you've played 18 games in the playoffs, it's pretty easy to put up those statistics with arguably the best quarterback of all time.
He's going into year 11 of his career and is still under the 500 career catches mark. He's just over 5,000 receiving yards and has only 30 touchdown catches.
As far as active players go, he's 23rd in receptions, 31st in receiving yards, and 41st in receiving touchdowns.
To add to this lack of production, players that have played half as many seasons (five) have already eclipsed his numbers. Both Odell Beckham Jr. and Mike Evans have more receiving yards and touchdowns than Edelman. And Brandin Cooks and Davante Adams both are above Edelman's touchdown totals as well.
Julian Edelman has at least solid five more years of production left in him. If he can improve his regular season numbers while also adding onto his already incredible playoff statistics then he will have a strong case for himself in getting into the Hall of Fame.
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