Edelman brings more to the table as a DB than a WR.
T, you are certainly on the "Edelman is a scrub bandwagon".....and you couldn't be more wrong. Did you see what Edelman did as a rookie.... in his first year....playing WR....EVER. It was extraordinary. Now you want to damn him simply because he hasn't gotten many snaps in the regular offense since. Just because he hasn't been able to beat out the most productive WR in the league the last 3 years, he has become a useless JAG - Thank god for the Packers that you weren't deciding Aaron Rodgers fate after his 3rd year of non production.
Or Wes Welker's Or Rob Ninkovich....OR a hundred other successful NFL players like ...oh Brandon Lloyd
Edelman is a LOT more than just a part time DB - Take a closer look, T. On punt return, you can count on one hand the number of punts that aren't fair caught that he doesn't make at least one defender miss. On the coverage teams, he is one of the surest tacklers. Actually in the 2ndary, he's one of the surest tacklers. How can forget that in the ONE year where he got significant snaps and looks, he produced beyond any rational expectation, for a 7th round rookie, who never played the position.
Now he is going into his 4th year of his WR apprenticeship. On what basis would make you believe he wouldn't be productive if he got the chance play 30-40 plays in a game?
With all these WRs coming in, it will be a great chance to see whose right. I think that BB will keep only 5 WRs (not counting Slater), so if you are right, then Edelman should be gone, right? If I'm right he'll be here for the duration of his contract.
Your obvious disdain for his game confuses me.
Id like to see the Pats spend at least a 2nd on a WR. Granted the Pats got burned on Bethel and Chad Jackson/Johnson. After NE picked Bethel, Anquan Boldin, Nate Burleson and Brandon Lloyd were picked. After NE picked Chad, Greg Jennings, Devin Hester and Marcues Colston were there. There are damn good WRs in every draft, NE needs to do a better job of finding one.
And every team could have had Gronk....some twice. And every team could have has Hernandez....some had 4 shots. The 20-20 hind sight game is nice for message board,debate, but ridiculous outside of FF. BTW- Devin Hester is a HORRIBLE WR.
The going on the cheap/scrub approach just is not working out in the passing game: Price, Slater, Edelman, PK Sam, then non - draftees like Aiken, Stanback and Underwood.
Price was cut more because we had to sign a C off the PS in order to have someone give Brady the ball. If we weren't down to our #4 C, he never would have been cut and who knows how he would have developed. Slater is an all pro special teamer, a Captain, and came to the Pats as a S prospect. He shouldn't be on your list. Edelman has given us more than the value of a 7th round pick - And as far as the rest, EVERY team in the league can produce a similar list. So what's your point.
BTW- As to the 2 higher picks (Bethel, and Jackson) - Bethel closer to a Moroney type disappointment. We got some production from him as a receiver (he had one of 2 TD's in a playoff game -and won a Miami game with a spectacular catch - And we got good production from him as a return guy - Disappointing sure, but not useless. Jackson was a flat out waste of a pick, though at the time all the "experts" thought it was brilliant. They were wrong too.