Julian Edelman says Patriots, fans should turn attention toward 2024 NFL Draft

National Football League

Published Nov. 26, 2023 5:00 p.m. ET

FOX Sports NFL analyst Julian Edelman finds himself in unfamiliar territory this 2023 season.

Edelman still roots for the New England Patriots, with whom he spent his entire NFL career (most of which came alongside NFL on FOX teammates Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady). But even the three-time Super Bowl champion admits that Patriots fans should probably throw in the towel on this season and look toward the 2024 NFL Draft.

“The Patriots are going to probably go out there and play their tails off,” Edelman said on “FOX NFL Kickoff.” “[But] if they go out and win, it’s probably a loss because right now there are a lot of holes in that team that need to be filled — and there’s a lot of hole-fillers in this draft.”

The Patriots played the New York Giants on Sunday, with the winning team dropping a key spot in a 2024 draft that, as Edelman’s “FOX NFL Kickoff” colleague Michael Vick pointed out, will likely be filled with top quarterbacks. That could allow the Patriots to deal with one of the main issues on their roster as Mac Jones has struggled mightily throughout the 2023 season.

Edelman later doubled down on his take that his old team would lose more by winning Sunday, evoking one of his former head coach Bill Belichick’s famous quotes by saying the Patriots should be “On to 2024.”

The Super Bowl LII MVP admitted it’s a new position for him to take.

“I don’t know what to say,” Edelman said. “I’ve never been in this situation.”

Edelman did get his wish. The Patriots lost 10-7 as kicker Chad Ryland missed a potential game-tying field goal as time expired.

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