Julian Edelman

Julian Francis Edelman (born May 22, 1986) is a professional football wide receiver and cornerback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football for Kent State and the College of San Mateo as a quarterback.

Early years
Edelman was born in Redwood City, California, the son of Angie and Francis Edelman. He has Jewish ancestry on his father's side, and was raised a Christian. He was the quarterback for Woodside High School in Woodside, California. As a senior in 2004, he led the Wildcats to a 13–0 record. During his high school career, he had 2,237 yards and 29 touchdowns passing, in addition to 964 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing.

College career
After high school, Edelman spent a year at the College of San Mateo before transferring to Kent State University, where he majored in business management. At Kent State, Edelman was a three-year starter at quarterback. His senior year, he was the Golden Flashes' leading passer, completing 56% of his passes (153 of 275 passes for 1,820 yards) throwing 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He was also their leading rusher, gaining 1,370 yards on 215 attempts (an average of 6.4 yards per carry) and scoring 13 touchdowns. His total offense broke Joshua Cribbs' single-season school record, set in 2003. He also punted four times, and played safety on the punt coverage team.

Pre-draft
Edelman was not invited to the 2009 NFL Combine; at his pro day, he recorded a 20-yard short shuttle time of 3.92 seconds, which was faster than any player at the Combine. In addition, he ran the 40 Yard Dash in 4.52 seconds, had a vertical jump of 36 1/2", a standing broad jump of 10'3", and ran the 3 Cone drill in an impressive 6.62 seconds.

Pre-draft
The New England Patriots, which had conducted private workouts with Edelman before the 2009 NFL Draft, selected him in the seventh round (232nd overall), ahead of Michigan State quarterback Brian Hoyer, who joined the Patriots as a free agent. Several analysts have suggested that the Patriots may have selected Edelman for his potential in a Wildcat formation. On July 16, 2009, Edelman signed a four-year contract with the Patriots that included a $48,700 signing bonus.

2009 season
Edelman scored his first professional points on August 13, 2009, in a pre-season game with the Philadelphia Eagles returning a punt 75 yards for a touchdown, and made the team over former Eagles wide receiver Greg Lewis, for whom the Patriots had given up a fifth-round draft pick in 2009.

Edelman sat out the Patriots' Week 1 game against the Buffalo Bills with an ankle injury, but was activated for, and made his first career start in, the Patriots' 16–9 loss in Week 2 against the New York Jets, which was also the first game Wes Welker has missed since Welker became a Patriot in 2007. Edelman led all receivers with eight receptions for 98 yards, and added 38 yards on two kickoff returns and 2 yards on a punt return, for a total of 138 all-purpose yards.

Edelman broke his arm in the Patriots' 59–0 rout of the Tennessee Titans, and did not accompany the Patriots on their trip to London to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At the time of his injury, Edelman was leading all rookies with 21 receptions. He returned for the Patriots' Week 10 game against the Indianapolis Colts, where he scored his first official NFL touchdown on a 9-yard reception from Brady.

When Welker was sidelined for the season after tearing his ACL and MCL against the Houston Texans, Edelman was once again called on to fill Welker's role; Edelman caught 10 of the 15 passes thrown to him for 103 yards, the first 100-yard game of his NFL career. He finished the regular season with 37 receptions for 359 yards and one touchdown.

In the Patriots' Wild Card playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Edelman caught six passes from Brady for 44 yards, including both of the Patriots' touchdowns. Edelman became the first rookie to score two receiving touchdowns in one postseason game since David Sloan did so for the Detroit Lions in the 1995–96 season.

2010 season
In the 2010 season, Edelman saw a decrease in playing time; through 15 games, he had just four receptions for 14 yards. In the Week 17 game against the Miami Dolphins, with Welker, Deion Branch, and Aaron Hernandez inactive, Edelman capitalized with three receptions for a total of 72 yards.

As a punt returner, Edelman had a 71-yard return for a touchdown against the Chicago Bears in Week 14 nullified by a holding penalty on linebacker Dane Fletcher; in the Week 17 game against the Dolphins, he returned a punt 94 yards for a touchdown. It was the first punt return touchdown by a Patriot since Troy Brown returned one against the Carolina Panthers in the Week 17 finale of the 2001 season, and the longest punt return in Patriots franchise history, eclipsing an 89-yard return by Mike Haynes in 1976. Edelman also set a franchise record by averaging 15.3 yards per return, which was second in the league after the Bears' Devin Hester.

2011 season
During the 2011 season, Edelman was used primarily as a kick and punt returner. During the Patriots' Week 10 game against the New York Jets, because of injuries to the Patriots' secondary, he was pressed into service as a defensive back during the fourth quarter; he earned his first tackle on defense by stopping running back LaDainian Tomlinson on a play in which Tomlinson injured his MCL.

During the Patriots' Week 11 game on Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs, he played defensive back in nickel and dime situations. He also returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown, which helped him earn his first AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award. In Week 12 he was nominated for the NFL's "Hardest Working Man" for his Week 12 performance against the Philadelphia Eagles, in which he made an open-field tackle on Vince Young to prevent a touchdown.

In the AFC Conference Championship Game, on January 22, 2012, against the Baltimore Ravens, Edelman played on 27 of 67 offensive snaps at wide receiver, catching one pass that converted a third down attempt, and 27 of 73 defensive snaps at cornerback, often covering the Ravens' Anquan Boldin; Edelman was credited with a forced fumble on the Ravens' final drive.

2012 season
Edelman's snap count increased in the first two games of the 2012 season, including a Week 2 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals in which he started over Wes Welker. After suffering an injury in the Patriots' Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Edelman was inactive for the next three games. He then saw limited duty until the Patriots' record-tying Week 11 win against the Indianapolis Colts, in which he had a career day. Edelman caught five passes for 58 yards and a touchdown, picked up 47 yards on a single rushing attempt, and returned two punts for a total of 117 yards. The first of those returns was a 68-yard return for a touchdown, giving Edelman three punt return touchdowns, tying the Patriots franchise mark.

Four days later, on Thanksgiving Day, Edelman scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter of the Patriots' victory over the New York Jets, in which they tied a franchise record with five touchdowns in one quarter: he recovered a Jets fumble and returned it 22 yards, and then caught a 56-yard touchdown from Tom Brady. Although he left early in the third quarter with a head injury, he nevertheless became the first player since the AFL-NFL merger with both a receiving touchdown and a return touchdown in consecutive games. In a game against the Miami Dolphins on December 2nd, Edelman broke his right foot and was placed on injured reserve. He would miss the remainder of the season.

Stature
Although both the Kent State and Patriots websites listed Edelman as 6'0", Edelman himself has stated that he is only 5'10", as was measured at his Pro Day (The Patriots website changed his height to 5'10" during the 2010 preseason). Moreover, even though Edelman is taller than Wes Welker, the similarities in their playing styles led their teammates to dub Edelman "Welker's Mini-Me."