Praise for Julian Edelman

[Double TE]

I am guessing neither Spikes nor Blount comes back next year. We'll get Vince and Mayo back as well as Kelly and we have enough depth at DT/DE/LB for now. So they can draft a DB, OL and TE and spend FA dollars on a WR? If they don't I won't cry but it would be great to give Brady another big target and at the same time take him away from Denver.

 

[Snake Eyes]

The thought of getting rid of Danny Amendola already is borderline ridiculous to me, although I don't mean that in a disrespectful way towards snake eyes either, as it's a question that others will bring up too.

Danny Amendola is about 10x above Edelman in carrying out his blocking assignments, which have been tremendous this year. As a matter of fact, I think Amendola has had one of the better seasons at his position in terms of blocking. On top of that, there's a damn good reason why Danny Amendola was one of the more sought after shorter/intermediate receivers in the game last year and Julian Edelman barely got a sniff. Julian Edelman recently commented on his unpolished route running and blocking, and how he's still attempting to overcome those mistakes, progress, and move forward.

Edelman has made great strides in certain aspects, is a great STer, and seems like a hard worker. That said, I think that a guy like Bill Belichick will have a much better read on the whole big picture, as it seems like some here are tending to overvalue JE a bit due to our "patches and glue" season at the position of WR. These are certainly far from normal circumstances. We'll just have to trust Belichick on this decision and leave it at that. I think the odds are good as long as the numbers don't get too high, but it seems like many here are raising them every day.

If Belichick allows Edelman to test the free agent waters that I imagine he'll do, then we probably have a decent chance of losing him and we'll have to move on--the same as always.

No disrespect received, I appreciate your post. I didn't consider the blocking when thinking about one as opposed to the other but I consider blocking to be one of the key attributes of a player.

Thanks.

 

[Snake Eyes]

Go for both...Edelman and Decker!

Brady probably has three excellent years left. Go all in!

I am curious if Talib comes back or if they go with Dennard/Ryan at corners.

How much is Decker going to command when free agency hits?

 

[supafly]

I am guessing neither Spikes nor Blount comes back next year. We'll get Vince and Mayo back as well as Kelly and we have enough depth at DT/DE/LB for now. So they can draft a DB, OL and TE and spend FA dollars on a WR? If they don't I won't cry but it would be great to give Brady another big target and at the same time take him away from Denver.

I wouldn't be surprised if both Spikes/Blount moved on, if they both stayed, or if it were split 1 and 1. I think it's up in the air at this point, with my gut leaning towards moving on from Spikes (or more appropriately, not offering him as much as someone else).

I think that DEN will have a lot of competition from other teams around the league regarding Decker, as there are a handful of teams who have 40+ million in salary cap space, and a handful more where have 20-30+. On top of that, DEN may be thinking that they won't be able to keep both Decker and Demarius Thomas together, just due to price alone. We'll have to see. I'd love the thought of Decker coming here though.

 

[Double TE]

How much is Decker going to command when free agency hits?

Great question. I would say Amendola * 1.5x in terms of total contact value?

 

[naF staP]

 

[supafly]

Great question. I would say Amendola * 1.5x in terms of total contact value?

You think that Eric Decker is going to see numbers in the range of 9 million dollars a year, and 45 million dollars total?

Wow.....really?

 

[ctpatsfan77]

You think that Eric Decker is going to see numbers in the range of 9 million dollars a year, and 45 million dollars total?

Wow.....really?

Look at receivers making about $9M/year. That actually sounds about right.

» Over the Cap- Top NFL Contracts: Wide Receiver

 

[patsinthesnow]

You think that Eric Decker is going to see numbers in the range of 9 million dollars a year, and 45 million dollars total?

Wow.....really?

The Raiders have an NFL record amount of cap room and barely any WRs.

I can easily see them throwing stupid money at Decker. Hopefully if they try to with Edelman, he doesn't go to that black hole.

 

[supafly]

Look at receivers making about $9M/year. That actually sounds about right.

» Over the Cap- Top NFL Contracts: Wide Receiver

Victor Cruz signed for 43 million total, and he has the capacity to take it to the house on any given play, actually even acting as a deep threat too.

Decker is good, but I pity any team who's going to throw almost 50 million dollars at him. That may not go over too well. I'd cap him off at about 7.5 over 4 yrs for 30 million total myself. He's basically a rich man's Brian Hartline in my opinion.

He may not put up nearly that kind of production without Manning throwing the ball to him, and teams attempting to cover Welker, D.Thomas, J.Thomas, etc. This is another case of trying to assess a player outside of his current situation, much like J.Edelman and the fact that Brady didn't have crap to throw to this season.

 

[supafly]

The Raiders have an NFL record amount of cap room and barely any WRs.

I can easily see them throwing stupid money at Decker. Hopefully if they try to with Edelman, he doesn't go to that black hole.

I can respect the thought that there are many teams with 25-30-35-40 million dollars in cap room, but then again we've seen that plenty of times before too, most recently this past offseason.

I can almost guarantee that if that's really Eric Decker's worth, Bill Belichick certainly isn't going to even think twice about trying to land him here. That's a no-brainer in my opinion.

I'll be happy and content if we're just able to sign Edelman and add our usual group of nobodies, with maybe another TE draft pick. If we're actually expecting to compete with those kinds of prices, we may as well forget about it.

 

[zipster9]

I can respect the thought that there are many teams with 25-30-35-40 million dollars in cap room, but then again we've seen that plenty of times before too, most recently this past offseason.

I can almost guarantee that if that's really Eric Decker's worth, Bill Belichick certainly isn't going to even think twice about trying to land him here. That's a no-brainer in my opinion.

I'll be happy and content if we're just able to sign Edelman and add our usual group of nobodies, with maybe another TE draft pick. If we're actually expecting to compete with those kinds of prices, we may as well forget about it.

I always liked Decker. He is 27, come 2014 season, and 6'3" and can run deep routes. He is as rough as Welker, too.

I would love for Patriots to sign him, if Edelman leaves.

 

[supafly]

I always liked Decker. He is 27, come 2014 season, and 6'3" and can run deep routes. He is as rough as Welker, too.

I would love for Patriots to sign him, if Edelman leaves.

I'm sure we all would like to see that, but at what cost?

If Decker is really going to be demanding 9 million dollars a year and 45 million or so, then there's no way we'll be making a play in my opinion. It'd be damn near impossible.

Now--if he'd come here for something in the range of 7 million per year or so, then maybe there's more of a hope and actual possibility.

 

[Double TE]

Maybe they pay Talib and draft a big receiver and another TE then? I'd love Decker but I am not getting into a bidding war with Oakland. Boldin is a FA I believe and he would not be as pricey.

 

[Bella*chick]

There are people who have "banged the table" more than you for Julian Edelman, so let's get that out of the way right now. " When are we going to learn?" About what? When have we overpaid a WR? If your message falls on deaf ears, it's because it should. No one in her/his right mind is suggesting breaking the bank for Edelman. But, letting him go by not offering him a fair deal would be stupid - and BB is not stupid. If Edelman refuses a fair offer, then that's one thing, but I'm betting BB will offer him that fair deal. Anyone thinking this team would even be in the playoffs without Edelman's contributions this year is kidding her/himself.

I might also add this guy's versatility is a huge bonus. He isn't just a WR, he is a valuable special teams player. Hell, didn't he even play defensive back a few times a la Troy Brown. A season or two ago? This guy will fill nearly any role you need. I think that has value all its own.

 

[chasa]

I see him coming back, just so long as he doesn't have welkers agent in his ear telling him hes worth $9 mil a year.

 

[goheels22002]

Edelman can get $4+ million for three or four years. Here's his market: Slot Receivers: The Closers of the NFL | jamsportz

Welker $6M/year
Colston: $7.26M /year
Amendola $5.54M/year
Manningham $3.65/year

Edelman has 1 year of elite production and is just 27 years old so he's got youth on his side. The Patriots know that read-and-react receivers are hard to come by, so they'll be competitive but won't break the bank. $10M/year invested in the slot position is way out of line.

My guess is someone else will overpay and he will leave.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

I hope we keep Jules.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

Maybe they pay Talib and draft a big receiver and another TE then? I'd love Decker but I am not getting into a bidding war with Oakland. Boldin is a FA I believe and he would not be as pricey.

Anquan isn't coming to the pats. Already said he would retire before coming here.

 

[Bhelmet]

Edelman has proven that when healthy he is as dangerous as anyone on this roster and more than capable to pick up most of WW's production. He has been clutch and can still hurt teams with his punt returning. When fighting injury he's JAG (just a guy - hope I used that right). He has finally found a way to stay healthy and if he can continue that, he will deservedly make some good money - here or elsewhere. Julian deserved the criticism then and he certainly deserves all of the credit now. I hope he stays here and I hope he stays healthy.