plays as if he is the biggest man on the field — even if that couldn’t be further from the truth in actuality.

As a slot receiver in the pros, you need to be durable and resilient. The position is difficult, you take a beating, and it takes the perfect football player to do it. Julian Edelman has easily risen to be the most productive slot receiver in the NFL at this point.

With a slew of injuries to the offense and what was already a thin receiving group, New England ran Edelman into the ground last season. There were moments in games where he just looked completely defeated, abused, and out of breath, but the Patriots kept him in the game.

During Week 3 against the New York Jets, Edelmantook a hit that would leave him with a lingering chest/rib injury for the remainder of the season. He was able to hide the injury for most of the season as best he could in terms of pain tolerance and management, but it showed to really affect him down the stretch of the season.

He also made the injury report during the season for both a shoulder and a knee injury. By the end of the season, it was clear that all of the injuries eventually caught up to Edelman and affected his on-field performance, including his perfect timing with best buddy quarterback Tom Brady.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Edelman underwent successful shoulder surgery last week. He’s not expected to miss any time in terms of the Patriots’