Is the New England Patriots’ Julian Edelman a Hall of Famer?

Has New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman accomplished enough in the NFL to one day make it into the Hall of Fame?

When New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman won the MVP award in Super Bowl LIII, his Hall of Fame status immediately got brought to the surface through conversation and debate. Has Julian Edelman accomplished enough in the NFL to one day make it into Canton?

Edelman has undoubtedly become one of the most productive wide receivers in the NFL. Over the course of his decade-long career, the three-time Super Bowl champion became fast friends with Tom Brady, and together the duo is a lethal combination for the Patriots.

Edelman has also earned the trust of not just Brady, but Bill Belichick as well. Even as a rookie, Belichick started giving Edelman important reps as a return specialist and sometime fill-in receiver for Wes Welker. Over the course of his career with the New England Patriots, Edelman has accumulated 562 receptions, 6,053 receiving yards, and 34 touchdowns.

NFL Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl champion Jerry Rice confidently said that Edelman has the best footwork out of all the current wide receivers in the NFL, according to NBC Sports Boston’s Darren Hartwell.

But it wasn’t the only high praise Rice had for Edelman. He elaborated further:

"“You’re not going to be able to cover him. You can’t do it. He’s going to be able to get separation from you and make the catch.”"

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Julian Edelman has been Tom Brady’s right-hand man for a long time now, and has become his favorite target – especially in the playoffs. Impressively enough, Edelman is second on the NFL’s all-time postseason receiving yards list with 1,412 yards… only second behind Jerry Rice himself. Rice is at the top of the list with 2,245 receiving yards.

Rice needed to play 19 years in the league to accumulate those playoff receiving yards. Edelman is in Year 10 and only needs 834 more receiving yards to surpass Rice. Over the past five seasons that he’s been healthy for the Patriots (he missed the 2017 season), Edelman has averaged 267 yards in the playoffs. Mathematically-speaking, that means there’s a good chance he could break Rice’s record in the 2021 NFL playoffs if the Pats make it the next three years (including this one).

I think the Hall of Fame needs to reevaluate how they induct players. Does anybody know what the exact criteria is to get in now? Perfect examples of this confusion and disarray include Terrell Owens, Michael Irvin, and Cris Carter. All of these wide receivers had to wait multiple years before being inducted into Canton, and yet all of them should have been probably been first-ballot Hall of Famers.

Based off Edelman’s resume and accolades, he is a Hall of Fame-caliber wide receiver in my estimation. Hypothetically-speaking, if the Patriots win another Super Bowl, Edelman will have his fourth ring and will join an esteemed list of players who have just as many as him.

When it comes to No. 11 getting into the Hall of Fame, his incredible numbers in the postseason shouldn’t be discounted or overlooked in the slightest. There’s also no denying the durability and reliability of Edelman, and I think those factors should be important when weighing in on whether or not he deserves a bust in the Hall of Fame.

What do you think? Has Julian Edelman accomplished enough in the NFL to one day make it into the Hall of Fame, or does he still need to do more in either the regular season or the postseason (or both) to earn his place?

Let us know in the comments section below!