Fantasy Football: 4 Takeaways From Julian Edelman's Season-Ending Injury

1. Tom Brady Should Be Fine

We'll get to the pass catchers in a second, but because the entire offense runs through Tom Brady, it's important to address him first. This is especially true given the potential narratives around the Edelman injury and what effect it will have on Brady's abilities as a passer.

Again, with how crucial Edelman has been to the offense, it's fully fair to mention these splits and focus on them. He's a big safety blanket for Brady underneath, and losing him likely won't have a positive impact on the offense. But it's also important to note that many of those games without Edelman occurred under different circumstances.

Let's go back to 2015, the most recent season in which Edelman missed significant time. There, he was out the final seven games, and the Patriots' offense averaged 23.1 points per game without him compared to 33.7 prior to the injury. That would seem to be significant. But Edelman also wasn't the only guy to miss time.

By the time Edelman went down, the Patriots were already on their fourth starting left tackle of the season. The biggest missing cog -- Nate Solder -- played just four games before he was lost for the year with a biceps injury. In all, the Patriots used five different starters at left tackle, four at right tackle, three at both guard positions, and two at center. It's hard to succeed when that's the case.

Once Edelman went down, the team's top remaining pass catchers were Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, and Brandon LaFell (who was also coming off of an injury). Both Gronkowski and Amendola missed a game in the post-Edelman stretch, leaving the team mighty thin at wide receiver. That's not the case this year.

Since the end of 2015, the Patriots have added Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, and Malcolm Mitchell into the fold at that position. Instead of being the top gun, Amendola is either the third or fourth option. The 2017 version of the Patriots is much better equipped to handle an Edelman injury.

Cooks was among the league's most efficient wide receivers last year. Hogan was a monster on deep targets. And Gronkowski is fully healthy. This would seem to indicate that Brady will be just fine.

There may be some growing pains in transitioning from Edelman's steady hand to the new band of merry men. But that doesn't mean the team will automatically struggle this year as they have in the past without Edelman. Brady's still among the top fantasy options at the position.