Do you think NE has made players like Julian Edelman better?

[StockingAnarchyNumber12]

I was having a discussion with a sports fan and we were discussing the careers of Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola and if Tom Brady/Patriots in general have made them better players. His logic indicated that if they were never drafted by the Patriots , they would of likely of been no names and never come close to a Superbowl ring. While that's impossible to predict, what's your opinions?

Do you think we make them better or they make us better? Possibly something in the middle and combination of both?

 

[Brick27]

Hard to evaluate players who didn't start with the Patriots as we've seen some guys come in who have flourished (ex. Welker) after having mediocre starts to their career, while others have fallen off a cliff once getting here.

I will say this though in terms of guys who begin their career with the Pats.. For about 15 years now we've pretty much always picked later in each round on average than essentially every other team in the league during that time frame. Of course some years we haven't even had first round picks (Thanks Roger). Logic would say that in the long haul players who are drafted later in a given draft aren't the quality of players drafted earlier. Obviously that's not always the case, but when you're looking at around 15 years of the Bill era, it's a pretty good sample size of draft classes. The fact the Pats have had more success than basically everyone (all while picking later than the other teams over a 15 year average) suggests that they get more out of the guys they do draft than one would expect. Of course there are other factors such as free agency involved, but it seems pretty clear that the Pats are doing something right that has historically not been done very often.

Can you imagine if the Patriots average draft position over the past 15 years was the same as say the Browns or Jags?

 

[Jackson 2]

I was having a discussion with a sports fan and we were discussing the careers of Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola and if Tom Brady/Patriots in general have made them better players. His logic indicated that if they were never drafted by the Patriots , they would of likely of been no names and never come close to a Superbowl ring. While that's impossible to predict, what's your opinions?

Do you think we make them better or they make us better? Possibly something in the middle and combination of both?

Well, Danny Amendola, for one, was never drafted by anyone. The Patriots are his 4th NFL team and, while he has been a very productive player in NE, his best years were arguably as a St. Louis Ram.

 

[Boston Boxer]

I was having a discussion with a sports fan and we were discussing the careers of Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola and if Tom Brady/Patriots in general have made them better players. His logic indicated that if they were never drafted by the Patriots , they would of likely of been no names and never come close to a Superbowl ring. While that's impossible to predict, what's your opinions?

Do you think we make them better or they make us better? Possibly something in the middle and combination of both?

hard to say. Amendola was already a good player with the Rams but i will say we made Welker. Edelman just followed the footsteps of Welker and we plugged him in when he was ready to take over.

 

[fxkane]

I would vote yes to Edelman. As has been said Amendola was best with the Rams and got an excellent contract which we have maximally reduced.

 

[Observer]

Depends on the player- some improve, some don't. There are UDFAs all over the NFL who have done very well.

 

[Mainefan]

I think Edelman would have succeeded anywhere, not so much because his football abilities, which are impressive, but because of his character. I doubt anyone or any circumstances could have kept this guy down.

 

[Mogamedogz]

Of course there is some value to be gained by playing with one of the greatest QB's of all time. But that said, I tend to believe that the guys who succeed in NE do so because they are who they were before Bill decided to invest in them. They all have the qualities that the Patriots put a premium on. Smart, hard working players, who put football above most everything else in their life (aside from family).

 

[bormio]

Julian Edelman made Julian Edelman better.