Julian Edelman Julian Francis Edelman ( born May 22 , 1986 ) is a professional football wide receiver and cornerback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He was drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft . He played college football for Kent State and the College of San Mateo as a quarterback . Early years . Edelman was born in Redwood City , California , the son of Angie and Francis Edelman . He has Jewish ancestry on his father ' s side , and was raised a Christian . He was the quarterback for Woodside High School in Woodside , California . As a senior in 2004 , he led the Wildcats to a 13 – 0 record . During his high school career , he had 2 , 237 yards and 29 touchdowns passing , in addition to 964 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing . College career . After high school , Edelman spent a year at the College of San Mateo before transferring to Kent State University , where he majored in business management . At Kent State , Edelman was a three - year starter at quarterback . His senior year , he was the Golden Flashes ' leading passer , completing 56 % of his passes ( 153 of 275 passes for 1 , 820 yards ) throwing 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions . He was also their leading rusher , gaining 1 , 370 yards on 215 attempts ( an average of 6 . 4 yards per carry ) and scoring 13 touchdowns . His total offense broke Joshua Cribbs ' single - season school record , set in 2003 . He also punted four times , and played safety on the punt coverage team . Professional career . Pre - draft . Edelman was not invited to the 2009 NFL Combine ; at his pro day , he recorded a 20 - yard short shuttle time of 3 . 92 seconds , which was faster than any player at the Combine . In addition , he ran the 40 Yard Dash in 4 . 52 seconds , had a vertical jump of 36 1 / 2 " , a standing broad jump of 10 ' 3 " , and ran the 3 Cone drill in an impressive 6 . 62 seconds . New England Patriots . Pre - draft . The New England Patriots , which had conducted private workouts with Edelman before the 2009 NFL Draft , selected him in the seventh round ( 232nd overall ) , ahead of Michigan State quarterback Brian Hoyer , who joined the Patriots as a free agent . Several analysts have suggested that the Patriots may have selected Edelman for his potential in a Wildcat formation . On July 16 , 2009 , Edelman signed a four - year contract with the Patriots that included a $ 48 , 700 signing bonus . 2009 season . Edelman scored his first professional points on August 13 , 2009 , in a pre - season game with the Philadelphia Eagles returning a punt 75 yards for a touchdown , and made the team over former Eagles wide receiver Greg Lewis , for whom the Patriots had given up a fifth - round draft pick in 2009 . Edelman sat out the Patriots ' Week 1 game against the Buffalo Bills with an ankle injury , but was activated for , and made his first career start in , the Patriots ' 16 – 9 loss in Week 2 against the New York Jets , which was also the first game Wes Welker has missed since Welker became a Patriot in 2007 . Edelman led all receivers with eight receptions for 98 yards , and added 38 yards on two kickoff returns and 2 yards on a punt return , for a total of 138 all - purpose yards . Edelman broke his arm in the Patriots ' 59 – 0 rout of the Tennessee Titans , and did not accompany the Patriots on their trip to London to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . At the time of his injury , Edelman was leading all rookies with 21 receptions . He returned for the Patriots ' Week 10 game against the Indianapolis Colts , where he scored his first official NFL touchdown on a 9 - yard reception from Brady . When Welker was sidelined for the season after tearing his ACL and MCL against the Houston Texans , Edelman was once again called on to fill Welker ' s role ; Edelman caught 10 of the 15 passes thrown to him for 103 yards , the first 100 - yard game of his NFL career . He finished the regular season with 37 receptions for 359 yards and one touchdown . In the Patriots ' Wild Card playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens , Edelman caught six passes from Brady for 44 yards , including both of the Patriots ' touchdowns . Edelman became the first rookie to score two receiving touchdowns in one postseason game since David Sloan did so for the Detroit Lions in the 1995 – 96 season . 2010 season . In the 2010 season , Edelman saw a decrease in playing time ; through 15 games , he had just four receptions for 14 yards . In the Week 17 game against the Miami Dolphins , with Welker , Deion Branch , and Aaron Hernandez inactive , Edelman capitalized with three receptions for a total of 72 yards . As a punt returner , Edelman had a 71 - yard return for a touchdown against the Chicago Bears in Week 14 nullified by a holding penalty on linebacker Dane Fletcher ; in the Week 17 game against the Dolphins , he returned a punt 94 yards for a touchdown . It was the first punt return touchdown by a Patriot since Troy Brown returned one against the Carolina Panthers in the Week 17 finale of the 2001 season , and the longest punt return in Patriots franchise history , eclipsing an 89 - yard return by Mike Haynes in 1976 . Edelman also set a franchise record by averaging 15 . 3 yards per return , which was second in the league after the Bears ' Devin Hester . 2011 season . During the 2011 season , Edelman was used primarily as a kick and punt returner . During the Patriots ' Week 10 game against the New York Jets , because of injuries to the Patriots ' secondary , he was pressed into service as a defensive back during the fourth quarter ; he earned his first tackle on defense by stopping running back LaDainian Tomlinson on a play in which Tomlinson injured his MCL . During the Patriots ' Week 11 game on " Monday Night Football " against the Kansas City Chiefs , he played defensive back in nickel and dime situations . He also returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown , which helped him earn his first AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award . In Week 12 he was nominated for the NFL ' s " Hardest Working Man " for his Week 12 performance against the Philadelphia Eagles , in which he made an open - field tackle on Vince Young to prevent a touchdown . In the AFC Conference Championship Game , on January 22 , 2012 , against the Baltimore Ravens , Edelman played on 27 of 67 offensive snaps at wide receiver , catching one pass that converted a third down attempt , and 27 of 73 defensive snaps at cornerback , often covering the Ravens ' Anquan Boldin ; Edelman was credited with a forced fumble on the Ravens ' final drive . 2012 season . Edelman ' s snap count increased in the first two games of the 2012 season , including a Week 2 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals in which he started over Wes Welker . After suffering an injury in the Patriots ' Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens , Edelman was inactive for the next three games . He then saw limited duty until the Patriots ' record - tying Week 11 win against the Indianapolis Colts , in which he had a career day . Edelman caught five passes for 58 yards and a touchdown , picked up 47 yards on a single rushing attempt , and returned two punts for a total of 117 yards . The first of those returns was a 68 - yard return for a touchdown , giving Edelman three punt return touchdowns , tying the Patriots franchise mark . Four days later , on Thanksgiving Day , Edelman scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter of the Patriots ' victory over the New York Jets , in which they tied a franchise record with five touchdowns in one quarter : he recovered a Jets fumble and returned it 22 yards , and then caught a 56 - yard touchdown from Tom Brady . Although he left early in the third quarter with a head injury , he nevertheless became the first player since the AFL - NFL merger with both a receiving touchdown and a return touchdown in consecutive games . In a game against the Miami Dolphins on December 2nd , Edelman broke his right foot and was placed on injured reserve . He would miss the remainder of the season . Stature . Although both the Kent State and Patriots websites listed Edelman as 6 ' 0 " , Edelman himself has stated that he is only 5 ' 10 " , as was measured at his Pro Day ( The Patriots website changed his height to 5 ' 10 " during the 2010 preseason ) . Moreover , even though Edelman is taller than Wes Welker , the similarities in their playing styles led their teammates to dub Edelman " Welker ' s Mini - Me . "