Julian Edelman once was a wide-eyed rookie at New England Patriots minicamp, tasked with being more of a sponge than a useful football player. The advice and tutelage he received no doubt played a role in the former college quarterback becoming one of the NFL’s most productive wideouts.
Now, the 33-year-old is paying it forward.
Before Patriots minicamp even started, Edelman was putting in offseason work with receiver N’Keal Harry, whom the patriots selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. And when minicamp kicked off last week, Edelman continued to mentor the 21-year-old Arizona State product.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss witnessed Edelman coaching up Harry first-hand Thursday morning. He relayed what he saw in a piece published late Saturday night, and even offered a video from the practice.
“The video does more justice than any words can, but Harry was running an out-breaking route off an inside release — he would run up the middle of the field, plant his left foot after about 12 yards, and explode out of his break to the sideline.
“On his first repetition, Harry had a few stutter-steps before planting his left foot. Edelman approached Harry to go over the finer points of the route, before Harry stepped to the line to do it again, with Edelman watching closely.
“The result was better, and Harry received positive reinforcement from quarterback Tom Brady for the improvement.”
(You can click here if the video doesn’t load.)
Hey, there are certainly worse tutors for a young receiver to have than Edelman and Brady.
The Patriots will hold offseason workouts Monday and Tuesday before taking a break until late July, when training camp begins.
