New England Patriots: Julian Edelman on the cusp of career year

Despite what has largely been a forgettable season for the New England Patriots offensively, Julian Edelman is on the cusp of his best NFL season ever.

Only nine receivers in the league this year have already eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark heading into Week 15.

Many of the names on this exceedingly short list are the familiar ones you’d expect: Michael Thomas, Mike Evans, DeAndre Hopkins, Julio Jones. The usual suspects, if you will – those wide receivers who truly are superstars in this league, the gold standard at the position.

You know who else is on that list? The New England Patriots‘ own Julian Edelman.

(For those who are curious, the other four names are Chris Godwin, Kenny Golladay, Amari Cooper, and DJ Moore.)

It’s not altogether insane that Edelman should be among the top-10 at his position in terms of receiving yards at this point in the season. After all, he’s the No. 1 wideout on the Patriots, playing for a brilliant coordinator in Josh McDaniels and catching passes from the GOAT, Tom Brady.

What is a little bit crazy is that Edelman is having the kind of season he’s having, given all of New England’s struggles this year on offense. The line has been patchwork since early September, the run game has been nonexistent, and Brady himself is in the midst of what has been one of his worst seasons statistically ever.

Fresh off winning Super Bowl MVP honors last February, the 33-year-old inked a two-year contract extension in May for $18 million – $12 million of which was fully guaranteed. In return, he has rewarded his team and the faith of Patriots owner Robert Kraft by delivering an incredible season – one in which he’s often been the only reliable option for Brady and the Patriots on a weekly basis.

Edelman needs just 97 more yards to set a new career high for himself. He could easily have that this Sunday against the 1-12 Cincinnati Bengals, who have been atrocious defensively all season long. Even if Edelman falls a bit short of that yardage total this week, he’s a lock (barring injury) to meet it by season’s end. The Patriots still have a very important game next week against the Buffalo Bills before wrapping up the regular season against the Miami Dolphins.

With 16 more receptions, Edelman will set a new career high for himself in that category as well. Considering that he’s averaging just under seven receptions per game this year, there’s a good chance he reaches that milestone in Week 16 against the Bills. Even if it doesn’t happen until the final week of the year, he’s more than likely to hit it before the playoffs roll around.

The one mark Edelman seemed unlikely to hit this season originally was his career high for touchdowns – which currently stands at seven (set in 2015). “Jules” has developed a bit of a reputation over the course of his 11-year pro career for being a bit end zone-averse at times… as anyone who’s ever owned him in fantasy football will tell you.

This year has been different though, given the lack of other options for the Patriots offensively. He has six receiving touchdowns this year – and one passing touchdown for good measure, too – including one score each in his past two outings (versus Houston and Kansas City). With one more receiving touchdown, he’ll tie his career best – with two, he’ll set a new mark altogether.

Realistically, Edelman should have new career highs for himself in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns by the time the regular season ends. If he survives the Bengals, Bills, and Dolphins games unscathed, it will also be just the third time in his career he plays a full 16-game season.