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New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was allowed to test the free agency waters by the team before he quickly re-sign with them. It appears that Edelman made a very smart move.
Coming off a year where he hauled in 105 passes, which was fourth in the NFL, it is never a bad thing to be Tom Brady’s favorite target. According to Pro Football Reference, Edelman put up six games last season where he scored double-digit fantasy football points in standard scoring leagues, and he was even better in PPR leagues.
Edelman will headline a receiving corps that was fairly underwhelming last season. It wasn’t really Edelman’s fault, but it was clear that Brady was frustrated with most of his receivers at some point during the season. Many Patriots fans were hoping that the team would splash some cash on a receiver in free agency, but the team chose to address defensive needs by signing Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner.
The team added former Carolina Panthers wideout Brandon Lafell, but he is hardly an upgrade over the receivers who were on the field for the Pats last year.
Due to the relatively unchanged landscape of the Patriots’ receiving corps, fantasy football owners should expect Edelman to post similar numbers to the ones he put up last year. Edelman won’t rack up ridiculous amounts of yardage, but he will receive a high volume of catches and from an extremely accurate quarterback. He will be a fantastic WR3 in standard leagues and could flirt with high-end WR2 status in PPR leagues.
Alexander Muir is a writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @AmuirAlex, “Like” him on Facebook or add him on your network on Google.
