Julian Edelman proud of work rookies N'Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers put in: ‘That's not easy'

FOXBORO -- Julian Edelman knows what it's like. He knows what it's like to be thrust into a key role because of injuries at his position. As a rookie. With Tom Brady at quarterback. 

It's why Edelman appreciated how his young teammates acquitted themselves on Sunday in a 13-9 win over the Cowboys. 

Both N'Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers played over 50 snaps. Both came up with key catches. Harry checked in with his first touchdown as a pro -- a beautifully-executed back shoulder to the front left corner of the end zone that required a well-placed pass, strong hands, and the awareness to get both feet in-bounds. Meyers saw eight targets and caught four for 74 yards, including two successful third-down targets. 

"It was great," Edelman said. "Jakobi made some really good plays, really great plays. Which he does in practice. N'Keal made that same play in practice. It was good to see him go out and translate practice into the game and get some confidence. 

"That's not easy for a young group like that, with no one behind them, to go out and compete against a really good football team in a rainstorm and have them go out and make plays. It was awesome to have 'em make plays."

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Well before the memorable Super Bowl moments, well before the Super Bowl LIII MVP trophy, well before the beard . . . Edelman was a baby-faced rookie seventh-round pick thrust into action because of an injury to prolific slot man Wes Welker. It was Week 2 of the 2009 season, Brady's first after missing the year prior with a torn ACL, and Edelman came through. He was targeted a whopping 16 times, catching eight for 98 yards. 

There was no one behind him to play that critical interior position. The Jets were a really good football team at that point, and he competed. He made plays.

But it wasn't all rainbows. He had a drop. The Patriots lost, 16-9.

This time -- thanks to field-position blows struck by Brady connections with Meyers, and thanks to the only touchdown of the game submitted by Harry -- the Patriots were on the right end of the slugfest. 

And Edelman wasn't the only one happy with how the young guys looked. 

"Yeah, they stepped up," Bill Belichick said. "They had a couple big plays. Again, not perfect, we’ve still got a long way to go. I think they’re learning every time they step on the field, whether it’s practice field, game field, or even walkthrough, but certainly they made plays today that we needed to win. 

"There weren’t a lot of points scored, and they were involved in either the field position, or the actual scoring of it . . . So yeah, they did a nice job."

"They played a lot of plays and proud of those two," Brady said. "They put a lot of effort in this week and they’re making improvements, and it was great to see. They both came through with some big plays for us – we needed it – and did a great job."

Brady wasn't kidding. The Patriots needed the efforts they got from Meyers and Harry. Particularly Harry's touchdown, for obvious reasons. But what Harry could provide down close to the goal line is something the Patriots will need more of moving forward. 

At the bye, it wasn't all that difficult to determine just how desperate New England's red-zone passing game was for help. At the time, they ranked 27th in the NFL in goal-to-go passing. And yet their pass attempts down by the goal line were climbing. It was a perfect storm of ugly. They were down key pieces that stalled their run game. That forced them to throw when sniffing the end zone. Yet those throws weren't working.

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Now, with Harry, the Patriots have a big-bodied target whose signature catches at Arizona State were of the contested variety -- exactly what any passing game has to expect when space gets tight in the red zone. Since Rob Gronkowski's retirement this offseason, the Patriots haven't had a viable open-even-when-he's-covered option when they want to throw into the end zone.

In his second game back after starting the season on injured reserve, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound first-round pick showed that he might be able to be that option.

“I’m definitely not satisfied," Harry said, "and anybody that knows me knows that I’m about to turn it up a notch, and I’m about to really hit the grindstone and really get back to work."

Edelman sounded like a proud big brother after the game, talking about the wideout who's a dozen years younger.

"That was big for him to go out and make a play in front of his home crowd," Edelman said. "We needed it. I'm happy for him. We've gotta continue to have that."

To Edelman's point, having rookie wideouts contribute isn't a luxury for this Patriots group. At least it wasn't on Sunday. Mohamed Sanu missed the game with an injured ankle. Phillip Dorsett missed with a concussion.

It's unclear how long those injuries will limit that veteran pair. There's a chance that both Harry and Meyers are relegated to reduced roles moving forward. 

Both had drops. Meyers had one early in the game on Brady's first pass on second-and-eight, stalling what started out as a promising drive with four productive runs. Harry's came during a two-minute situation before halftime on a difficult catch deep along the sideline that hit him in the hands and could've been caught. 

But both also showed that they're capable. And both gave their hard-to-please quarterback a nice moment or two that maybe he'll feel is worth building upon -- even when he's not forced to throw their way because of injuries elsewhere at the position. 

Odds are they'll need Harry. They'll need him in the red zone. They'll need him for moments when Brady would benefit a bail-out option in contested situations. 

Odds are they'll need Meyers. He knows all three receiver positions well enough that he could fill in if necessary. And with banged-up receivers all over the receiver room at Gillette Stadium -- including Edelman, who was visibly bothered by a shoulder issue Sunday -- odds are that will be necessary. 

The Patriots will need them at some point. Perhaps Sunday -- imperfect as it was for the offense -- is the day they'll look back on as the one the rookie wideouts started to build some confidence.

The key now is to keep building. No time to stand back, hands on hips, and let out a satisfied breath after a job fairly well done. 

"We gotta keep it going," Edelman said, "roll it over, and have a great week of practice this week, and get ready for Houston."

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