FOXBORO, Mass. — Most NFL players wear down as the long 16-game season rolls along. Minor bumps and bruises pile up, and a player might be a step slower by December.
New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is having a Benjamin Button-esque season, where his production is on an upward trend as of late. He had just 41 catches for 358 yards and one touchdown in the Patriots’ first eight games before the bye week, and he has made 31 catches for 360 yards and one score in their four games since.
Edelman’s increased production — including his eight-catch, 101-yard performance in Sunday’s 26-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams — comes down to his own improved health and injuries affecting other pass-catchers. Edelman re-injured his surgically repaired foot during the summer, then aggravated it again prior to Week 5. He has been on the injury report ever since.
“I’m feeling a day better than yesterday,” Edelman said after Sunday’s game. “I don’t feel better than yesterday because we just had a game, but I’m really just trying to stack together weeks and do my job and stay in the system, and that’s what I’m going to try to continue to do.”
Edelman shrugged off the notion that he wasn’t playing like himself early in the season.
“I feel like myself always,” he said.
The receiver brought up a good point when presented with his early lack of production, however.
“There’s a lot more targets this year,” Edelman said. “That’s what people don’t realize. So we’ve got a lot of good football players on this team. This is probably the most depth I’ve had here as far as receiver, running back, tight end. It’s a good offense to be part of.”
Tight end Rob Gronkowski is out for the season with a back injury, and wide receiver Chris Hogan (back), tight end Martellus Bennett (ankle/shoulder) and running back Dion Lewis (returning from a knee injury) recently haven’t been at 100 percent. That has allowed Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to refocus his attention on Edelman, who has responded with some added pep in his step.
Edelman now has 72 catches for 718 yards and two touchdowns on the season, surpassing his 2015 production. If he can continue his pace from the last four games, he could pile up the second 100-catch, 1,000-yard season of his eight-year NFL career.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
