Julian Edelman

(1986-)

Julian Edelman (born May 22, 1986) is an American football wide receiver and punt returner for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Kent State and the College of San Mateo as a quarterback, and was drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

Edelman is notable for his versatility, having played both wide receiver and cornerback in 2011, and for his punt returns. He holds the Patriots franchise record for longest punt return and the most punts returned for touchdowns; and, as of the start of the 2013 NFL season, the highest career punt return average among active players.

Edelman was born in Redwood City, California, the son of Angela (née Gole) and Frank Edelman, who owns a small business. His father is Jewish and his mother is not Jewish. During an NFL Network interview in December 2013, Edelman stated that he identifies as Jewish and that he celebrates Hanukkah, and he wore an Israeli-American flag pin on his hat during the November 2014 Denver Broncos game at Gillette Stadium.

In the 2014-2015 postseason, Edelman recorded a touchdown pass on his first-ever NFL pass attempt in the Patriots' Divisional Round playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens. After receiving a lateral pass from Brady, Edelman threw a forward pass to Danny Amendola, who scored a 51–yard touchdown to tie the game at 28–28. The pass was the longest touchdown pass thrown by a non-quarterback player in NFL playoff history.

Against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, Edelman led all receivers in yardage with 109 yards on 9 receptions. His touchdown reception with 2:02 left in the fourth quarter was the final go-ahead score of the game, putting the Patriots up 28–24 and helping lead them to become the Superbowl champions. For the postseason as a whole, Edelman led all receivers in both receptions (26) and receiving yards (281).

Sources: Wikipedia