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Nov 21, 2011; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman (11) returns a punt for a touchdown in the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 34-3. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images David Butler II-Imagn Images

Julian Edelman Gives Expectations On Young Patriots Star

Originally posted on New England Patriots on SI
By Ethan Hurwitz | Last updated Apr 12, 2026 10:30 AM ET

Even though he never played with Drake Maye, former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is a fan of the young quarterback.

And while Edelman played with his fair share of MVP quarterbacks with Tom Brady and Cam Newton during his playing career, he's excited to see what this potential MVP candidate can do. One thing Edelman is curious about is how Maye -- who finished second in the MVP voting last season -- can handle when his offensive line is struggling.

"Year three, I want to see how he deals with the offensive line when they are not performing at their best," Edelman told Patriots Wire's Sophie Weller last week. "There's going to be times where you can't get them blocked, but we still got to produce. And I think that's going to be the natural progression in his progression."

Offensive line struggles have been the name of the game for Maye's first two years in the league. In 2024 under Jerod Mayo, a revolving door all across the line created a mess up front for the Patriots. One year later, with Mike Vrabel now as head coach, they went out and spent a first round pick on Will Campbell to shore up the left tackle position.

The line held up, for the most part. The postseason is where it all came apart. Maye was sacked 21 times during his four playoff games -- the most in NFL history. Six of those came in the Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

The team, once again, went out and added to their line. After trading away Garrett Bradbury and moving Jared Wilson to center, the Patriots signed often-injured guard Alijah Vera-Tucker away from the New York Jets. He hasn't played a full season in the NFL yet since being drafted 14th overall in 2021, but "AVT" can be a menace if he's in the lineup.

Maye Will Have Coaching Support In '26

It also helps that a familiar face will remain on the coaching staff in 2026.

"Another year in the same system. This will be year two with (offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels," Edelman said. "I think they're naturally going to get better together the longer they play together. Seeing him being able to handle those types of situations. We saw him explosive down the field. We saw him dink and dunk with the completion percentage. That was elite. We need to see him when s--- hits the fan."

Mac Jones -- who was drafted one pick after Vera-Tucker in 2021 -- looked the part for the Patriots before McDaniels walked away to take the Las Vegas Raiders head coaching job. It will be crucial for New England to see Maye's development continue to tick upwards as opposing to Jones' meteoric slide.

So it's great for the Patriots fans to see Maye carve up opposing defenses when everything is cooking. The Patriots Hall of Fame wideout is looking forward to see what the 23-year-old quarterback can do when it's not easy sledding.

"That's what I want to see him, when it's gritty time," Edelman said. "Like we saw all Super Bowl. It was tough to block those guys, but we still got to find a way."

This article first appeared on New England Patriots on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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