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          New England Patriots

          Class of '09: Julian Edelman, Sebastian Vollmer rate highly in Mel Kiper Jr. re-draft

          • Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterMar 19, 2015, 05:00 PM ET
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              Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
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          It's the NFL draft season, which means various analysts produce their "re-drafts" from the past, looking back on a draft and considering how it would unfold today based on the players' performance.

          As part of an ESPN.com Insider pieceInsider, Mel Kiper goes through the exercise for 2009, and the New England Patriots land two players in the top 10: Receiver Julian Edelman (pictured) and offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer.

          Kiper passes along one conversation he had with an NFL general manager who called Edelman, "the toughest cover in the NFL right now."

          Neat stuff, especially when considering Edelman was a quarterback at Kent State and the Patriots switched him to receiver after selecting him in the seventh round (232nd overall). Furthermore, it wasn't as if he lit it up right away, as he battled some injuries early in his career and any team could have signed him after the 2012 season for not much more than a minimum contract.

          He stuck with the Patriots, had a super 2013 season, and parlayed that into a richer longer-term deal.