Julian Edelman

Julian Francis Edelman (born May 22, 1986) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the New England Patriots.

His total offense broke Joshua Cribbs's single-season school record, set in 2003.

He was the quarterback for his high-school team, and as a senior he led the Wildcats to a 13–0 record in 2004.

In high school, Edelman had 2,237 yards and 29 touchdowns passing, and 964 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing.

After high school, Edelman spent a year attending the College of San Mateo.

There, he threw for 1,312 yards and 14 touchdowns, rushed for a school-record 1,253 yards and 17 touchdowns.

He then transferred to Kent State University, where he majored in business management.

At Kent State, Edelman was a three-year starter at quarterback.

His senior year, Edelman 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.

Edelman missed the Patriots' Week 1 game against the Buffalo Bills with an ankle injury, but he 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 had missed since becoming 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 that season with 21 receptions.

He returned with the Patriots' Week 10 game against the Indianapolis Colts, where he scored his first official NFL touchdown on a 9-yard reception from Tom Brady.

When Welker was sidelined for the season after tearing two knee ligaments against the Houston Texans, Edelman was 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.

He also made six punt returns as well as 11 kickoff returns, gaining 304 yards in all on 17 returns.

In the Patriots' Wild Card Round playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Edelman caught six passes from Brady for 44 yards, including both of the Patriots' touchdowns.

He played college football for the Kent State Golden Flashes as a quarterback and was selected in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Patriots, where he transitioned to a return specialist and wide receiver.

Edelman was not invited to the 2009 NFL Combine.

At his March 12 Pro Day, he ran the short shuttle in 3.92 seconds; the fastest time at the Combine that year was 3.96 seconds.

The New England Patriots, who had conducted private workouts with Edelman before the 2009 NFL Draft, selected him with the 27th pick of the seventh round (232nd overall), ahead of Michigan State quarterback Brian Hoyer, who joined the Patriots as a free agent.

Several analysts suggested that the Patriots may have selected Edelman for his potential in a Wildcat formation; when the pick was made, he was announced as a wide receiver.

On July 16, 2009, Edelman signed a four-year contract with the Patriots that included a $48,700 signing bonus.

Edelman later stated that he knew he lacked the ability to make an NFL roster as a quarterback, so before the draft he prepared himself to play at positions other than quarterback.

The BC Lions placed Edelman on their "negotiation list," a list of American players for which they have exclusive negotiating rights, and offered him a three-year, incentive-heavy contract to play quarterback.

On August 13, 2009, in a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Edelman returned a punt 75 yards, and he 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 became a primary offensive starter in 2013 and was a staple of the Patriots' receiving corps until his retirement after the 2020 season.

Although never selected to a Pro Bowl, Edelman was one of the NFL's most productive postseason receivers.

He ranks third in postseason receiving yards and receptions and holds the Super Bowl records for punt returns and first-half receptions in a single game.

A three-time Super Bowl winner, he was the receiving yards leader during his victories in Super Bowl XLIX and Super Bowl LIII.

Edelman was named MVP of the latter, accounting for more than half his team's receiving yards.

Edelman was born in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Redwood City, California, to Angela (née Gole) and Frank Edelman, a mechanic who owns A-1 Auto Tech.

He has two siblings, Jason and Nicole.

Edelman was raised as a Christian but has experienced what he described as a "Jewish awakening."

In an NFL Network interview in December 2013, Edelman said that he was Jewish and celebrated Hanukkah.

His mother was born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, to German parents who had lived in Belgium.

Edelman played varsity football and baseball at Woodside High School in Woodside, California.

He was extremely small as a freshman, weighing under 100 lbs before his growth spurt.