Belichick: Julian Edelman One of the Great Versatile Patriots

The story of Julian Edelman is the story of a player with no fixed position who became the Super Bowl LIII MVP.

His story is something that Bill Belichick has highlighted in the wake of New England’s sixth Super Bowl title.

Famously, Julian Edelman is a converted quarterback. That’s the position that the former seventh round pick made his name in at college.

However, there were doubts that he could quarterback at NFL level. During his first three seasons, Julian Edelman played at wide receiver, defensive back and return specialist. It wasn’t until his 5th full season that he was a starter for the Patriots at wide receiver.

Fast forward to last Sunday, where his performance earned him the Super Bowl MVP title. Edelman is a testament to work ethic and perseverance in the face of stiff competition from more naturally talented players.

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Edelman’s ontogenesis didn’t come down to just one game though, he has the numbers of an elite player over time. His playoff performances in particular stand out, even by Patriots standards.

He has 115 receptions and 1,412 receiving yards in playoff games, the second-most in history. He has six 100-yard games, also the second most in history. Edelman has recorded at least 5 catches in 13 consecutive playoff games.

Bill Belichick first heard about Edelman, then playing at Kent State from Rick Gosselin, a Dallas Morning News football writer.

“We know Rick followed the draft very closely, and at one point he said to me, a kid you might want to take a look at is this quarterback up at Kent State,” said Belichick.

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“I don’t think he can play quarterback [in the NFL], but I’ve heard he’s a pretty good player. …

“I’d say the game that really impressed me most in watching Julian was the Ohio State game, he didn’t have a lot of blocking and they were getting killed by Ohio State. But what you saw in that game was how competitive he was, how hard he was to tackle and how tough he was. Even though it was three or four touchdowns, or whatever they were behind, he played the game with an intensity that was honestly hard for them to handle.

“Julian epitomizes the work ethic, toughness, mental toughness, physical toughness, determination and will, and just extraordinary ability to perform under pressure,” Belichick said.

“He’s truly in the mold of one of the great versatile Patriots, with Troy Brown, Mike Vrabel, guys like that. …

“Nobody has worked harder in my career than Julian to develop his skills and his craft at a position, other than I’d say Steve Neal — other than Julian because he really didn’t have any background in it.”