Few things in the universe of sports can stack up to a triumphant underdog. A single person or a team that overcomes the odds of imminent defeat will often steal our hearts and our adoration as fans. When they continue to defy the odds, we begin to view them as heroes in a sense. New England Patriots star wide receiver Julian Edelman, who retired from football this past week, was the epitome of an underdog who defied the odds time and time again.
The wide receiver’s journey started in Redwood City, Calif. Born May 22, 1986, Edelman lived an active, sports fueled childhood where he developed and maintained a competitive drive that would become his defining personality trait. Francis Edelman, Julian’s father, would often get into contentious arguments with his son while practicing sports. In the E:60 Profile: Julian Edelman, Francis even recounted a story of when Julian, at fourteen years old, charged the mound during batting practice. He had admittedly been throwing increasingly harder and further inside in order to anger his son.
The harsh coaching of Francis, paired with Julian’s small stature, became the spark for Julian’s competitive drive. Though undersized, he would become the starting quarterback for his high school, where he would post an impressive perfect record. Though his high school career was seemingly perfect, Edelman drew the interest of only a single Division I college, Kent State.
Edelman would attend Kent State, and earned the starting quarterback position in his first year. He would go on to start every game over the next three seasons. He posted 4,997 passing yards and 2,494 rushing yards to go along with 52 total touchdowns during his three-year college career. As Edelman wanted to take his football career to the next level, it became increasingly apparent that a future as a quarterback was unrealistic. His skill set was suitable for the NFL, but at another position: wide receiver. After working endlessly to transition into a wide receiver and gain the attention of NFL scouts during the 2009 draft season, Edelman was selected with the 232 pick in the seventh round of the NFL draft by the New England Patriots.
Edelman’s progress in New England was not immediate. Playing behind star receivers Randy Moss and Wes Welker, Edelman saw little playing time at first. After Welker tore his ACL in the final regular season game of the 2009-10 regular season against Houston, Edelman assumed the role of slot duties for the playoffs: a harbinger of things to come. After countless mistakes on both sides of the ball, the Pats trailed the Ravens 24–0 at the end of the first quarter. Edelman would catch two touchdowns from Tom Brady, accounting for the teams only points in decisive 33–14 loss.
By the 2013 season, Welker would sign with the Denver Broncos, while Julian Edelman would take on the responsibilities as full time slot receiver. In the regular season, Edelman would go onto start 85 of his 137 games played for New England. Over the course of his regular season career, Edelman stacked up an impressive 620 receptions for 6,822 yards and 36 touchdowns. Of course, these numbers are nothing to be scoffed at, but they pale in comparison to his playoff statistics.
When January would roll around, Julian Edelman would elevate his game to the highest level attainable for a professional wide receiver. Edelman has amassed 118 career playoff receptions to pair with 1,442 career playoff receiving yards. Both Edelman’s playoff receptions and receiving yards are only second to the greatest receiver of all time, Jerry Rice, who has 151 receptions for 2,245 yards in the post season.
The enormous contributions by Edelman in the playoffs helped earn the New England Patriots three more championships in only a five-year span. His stellar performance in Super Bowl LIII, where he hauled in 10 passes on 12 targets for 140 yards against the L.A. Rams, was good enough to earn him Super Bowl MVP honors.
Undoubtedly, the most memorable moment in Julian Edelman’s storied career was his miraculous catch in the Patriots’ notorious comeback against the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl LI, in which they overcame a 28–3 deficit late in third quarter. Brady’s pass to Edelman on a crossing route was undercut and batted directly up in the air. In what seemed to be a defiance of the laws of physics, Edelman changed his direction in a split second, then corralled the ball while draped by three defenders. Having bounced off the shoe of a Falcons player, the ball was jarred free from his clutches. In an instance that seemed like an eternity for both Patriots and Falcons fans, Edelman secured the ball only centimeters from the turf. “The Catch” was an exposé of the sheer will and determination that drove Edelman throughout his football career.