Julian Edelman Believes Patriots Landed Steal of NFL Draft

This year's batch of rookies has yet to take a snap in the NFL regular season, but former New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman is ready to plant his flag in the belief the team may have landed the steal of the draft in second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson.

During an interview on the "Patriots Talk Podcast" with Tom Curran, Edelman broke down some of his thoughts on the Patriots' second-round pick, making it clear he thinks incredibly highly of Henderson.

"TreVeyon Henderson’s probably the steal of the draft," Edelman said, "I think TreyVeyon Henderson, I think that’s the kind of guy you need to draft that becomes part of the nucleus with Drake [Maye]."

As the 38th pick in April's draft, Henderson's certainly made his presence felt early in New England in the short time he's been in town. Not just behind the scenes as a pleasant surprise in training camp, but also as a preseason standout.

Henderson logged an electric 100-yard kickoff return touchdown to start his Foxboro tenure in perhaps the best way possible during game one vs. the Washington Commanders, also landing a score on the ground in game two vs. the Minnesota Vikings. It seems like each time the Ohio State product touches the field, he's gaining more and more hype for the season ahead.

And for Edelman, he's not only a fan of the player. Edelman also praised the team-building side of his selection as to why Henderson could be a key to developing the right culture in the locker room.

"That's how you build your team," said Edelman. "You build your team through the draft, guys that you want to come in to implement what your identity is. Just from hearing coaches speak about him, with his maturity, the way he is as a professional, that's going to be really good. If he can go out and have production, everyone's going to see how he works, how he is as a person on and off the field, and it makes the other guys in the locker room like, 'Man, that's why he's doing this."

"That was my biggest takeaway: he can be a really good weapon."