Edelman > Welker

I've posted several comparison threads over the years, but the last two months culminating today has caused me to up my ante from "though similar, both are great in different ways" to this: Edelman is significantly better than Welker in his prime.

It's not close. Welker may very well hold onto every Patriots receiving record, but Edelman is flat out better. Edelman might be the hardest receiver to cover in the NFL not named Antonio Brown. Edelman is tougher, stronger, doesn't wear down by the fourth quarter, makes more challenging catches, has a much better catch radius and runs at least as precise routes. He makes the whole offense better in ways Welker could not.

Both are pretty damn good. Wes was excellent but my perception is a bit skewed toward Edelman. Ya know...Jules being clutch in the Super Bowl and Welker blowing one for us.

I prefer Edelman...hes more shifty, more clutch. I think Welker had better hands than Jules does. Before y'all lynch me, yes Welker had more significant drops but overall I think Edelman drops a few too many at times. But that is the only thing about his game that I can even semi-criticize.

Edelman should be nicknamed Edel"THE"man. The guy is extremely reliable and unlike Welker adds swagger to this team by just being on the field.

edelman was clutch in last years sb.

welker dropped a clutch pass in the sb.



thats all that matters to me. edelman makes plays when it matters the most.

I loved Welker and I still love Welker, even after his missed opportunity in the Super Bowl. He did a LOT for us. But I gotta say, it's obvious: Edelman is much tougher than Welker, he's got bigger balls... for lack of a better term. I think he is just like Tom is. He uses the fact that almost no one gave him a chance to push himself to prove everyone wrong. He's one tough SOB, and not only that - he is just as talented as he is tough. And that's why I give him the edge over Welker.

Edit: By the way. I say ALMOST no one gave him a chance, because IIRC the Pats told him (paraphrasing?) "We don't know what position you will play, but we know you can play football." And that's another reason why I love this team and this coach. Bill isn't afraid to take a chance on a player who may not be the most physically gifted as long as they love the game and have a drive to be great.

Also saying it's not close is kind of unfair to Welker. He had one BIG missed opportunity in the Super Bowl, so it's magnified a lot. I may catch some flak for this, but Tom could have thrown a better pass. Even so, it was catchable, and in that moment, he has to make that catch. However, that was one bad moment in an otherwise stellar career as a Patriot.

Yes by like a million miles. MVP.

Edelman is much more like Brady than Wes was imo. Both have that same fire inside.

Edelman > Brown > Branch > Welker.

all 4 guys are good in their own way but that is my order.

Welker is the Peyton Manning of our slot guys though. Put up great numbers but in the big games in crunch time he didn't deliver for 1 reason or another.

Missed season notwithstanding, Welker was on the whole more durable.

Edelman has a bigger catch radius, but Welker seemed to have more reliable hands within his radius.

I think Edelman is as good as or better than Welker in all other ways, tangible and intangible alike.

Both receivers are warriors.

Boggles my mind that we almost lost Edelman in FA. The Giants brought him in but, from what I am told here, they only had interest in him at QB. Really shocking no teams were interested in him especially giving his punt returning abilities.

That's good for us, though, as we got him back and he helped greatly winning our 4th.

Dear God,

Not this stupidity again.

BobDigital said:

Edelman > Brown > Branch > Welker.

all 4 guys are good in their own way but that is my order.

Welker is the Peyton Manning of our slot guys though. Put up great numbers but in the big games in crunch time he didn't deliver for 1 reason or another.

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I love Deion Branch but it is absurd to suggest he was ever better than Wes Welker. Not close.

Deus Irae said:

Dear God,

Not this stupidity again.

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I often agree with your posts but we are FANS after all... So why is it stupid for us to compare two similar players that we've watched over the last few years? As long as no one is trolling I don't see why we can't have a discussion about it.

DShero said:

I often agree with your posts but we are FANS after all... So why is it stupid for us to compare two similar players that we've watched over the last few years? As long as no one is trolling I don't see why we can't have a discussion about it.

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Mostly because it's been debated constantly since 2013.

Kdo5 said:

I love Deion Branch but it is absurd to suggest he was ever better than Wes Welker. Not close.

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To be fair to Branch, he DOES have something Welker does not... AND he has an MVP in that game... Having said that, I still agree with you

Kdo5 said:

Mostly because it's been debated constantly since 2013.

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Well, Edelman is still playing for us. He can only move further up the ladder and every time he has a great or gutsy performance in a meaningful game it's going to be brought up due to their similarities. It's just kind of how it is.

randomk1 said:

Edelman is much more like Brady than Wes was imo. Both have that same fire inside.

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THIS

Edelman moving to Southern California to be able to practice with Brady in the offseason says a lot about his attitude.

But let's not dismiss Welker so easily - he was a stud for us. I'm delighted we've had both, and they only cost us a 2nd and a 7th round pick to get them.

PatsFanInLondon said:

I'm delighted we've had both, and they only cost us a 2nd and a 7th round pick to get them.

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It's funny. There are so many playmakers on this team and over the last 15 years we could say similar things about. Randy Moss for a 4th round pick? LOL

DShero said:

To be fair to Branch, he DOES have something Welker does not... AND he has an MVP in that game... Having said that, I still agree with you

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To be fair to Welker, if the Tyree catch doesn't happen or Samuel doesn't drop an INT would he also be a SB MVP? 11 catches for 103. I thought he was our best guy that day.