Earlier this week, 12-year veteran and Patriots legend WR Julian Edelman ended his storied career. The former Super Bowl MVP failed his physical and was released by New England and subsequently retired from the NFL. One of the all-time post-season greats is eligible for the HOF in 2026 and today there is great debate on whether or not he is worthy of a gold jacket.
The Stats
36 Receiving Touchdowns (Wasn't even on the PFR leaderboard)
0 Pro-Bowls
0 All-Pros
Now going off of these stats alone, Edelman does not even sniff Canton. He is a great story going from 7th round QB to one of Tom Brady's secret weapons, but he simply does not have anything outstanding here that would make him anywhere close to a HOF candidate.
...but here's where the debate lies
1,422 Postseason Receiving Yards (2nd All-Time)
118 Postseason Receptions (2nd All-Time)
3x Super Bowl Champion (XLIX, LI, LIII)
Super Bowl LIII MVP
Patriots 2010s All-Decade Team
By looking at THESE (cherry-picked) stats Edelman looks like a world-beater and one of the greatest wide receivers of our generation. Edelman seems to have some crazy postseason magic that turns him into a serious threat. Postseason success has been known to help out quarterbacks in their HOF case as we will soon see with Eli Manning likely heading to Canton in 2024, but with the voters' views ever-changing may we see a monumental decision to let Brady's golden boy enshrined forever in glory?
What About the Others?
Among these star wide receivers, Julian Edelman has half as many yards and touchdowns as anybody on this list. If it seems like it is an unfair matchup it is because it is. Here he is put against 11 other WRs that are all-time greats and deserve a gold jacket at some point and he does not resemble any of them.
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