Patriots: What are the best fantasy football options on the team?
4. Julian Edelman
Julian Edelman is perhaps as polarizing a player in the fantasy community as he is in the real-life football community.
No one can contest Edelman’s toughness, competitive fire, or his penchant for coming up clutch when his team needs him most. His incredible circus catch in Super Bowl 51 may have been the play of the game, and without his 10 receptions in Super Bowl 53, the Patriots probably don’t have a sixth Lombardi Trophy – and Edelman certainly doesn’t have his Super Bowl MVP award.
Yet in the ensuing weeks after the Patriots’ victory last February, much debate was made over whether Edelman should even be considered for the NFL Hall of Fame one day.
On the one hand, he’s a three-time Super Bowl champion, he’s a Super Bowl MVP, and stunningly, he stands only behind the great Jerry Rice in postseason receptions and receiving yards all-time. On the other hand, though, his regular season statistics are hardly noteworthy, and he’s never been a true bonafide No. 1 receiver – at least not in the classic sense.
His reputation is somewhat similar in fantasy as well. Detractors can correctly claim he’s never scored double-digit touchdowns in a season and that he’s only topped 1,000 receiving yards twice in 10 years. Proponents can counter those statements by pointing out his incredible consistency over the past five seasons he’s played, during which he’s averaged 86 receptions for 935 receiving yards per year as Tom Brady’s favorite receiver in what is always one of the NFL’s best and most points-productive offenses.
In the 12 games he played last season (he lost the first four to suspension), Edelman finished as a Top-30 wide receiver in fantasy scoring 11 of those 12 times. What does that mean exactly? It means his floor as a player is about as good as it gets… in other words, even if he’s not setting the world on fire each week like DeAndre Hopkins or Julio Jones, he’s still getting his points on a consistent-enough basis to remain in most starting lineups.
Furthermore, it stands to reason that no player in the Patriots’ passing attack might benefit more from Rob Gronkowski’s retirement than Julian Edelman. With so many unknowns elsewhere in New England’s wide receiver and tight end position groups, Edelman is a known commodity – and that could make all the difference when Brady drops back to pass this year.