Julian Edelman's Advice to Gunner Olszewski: 'Don't Do What I Do'

Gunner Olszewski has a similar path to Julian Edelman. Both were non-receivers turned pass-catchers when they entered the NFL, and both joined the New England Patriots to begin their careers alongside veteran wideouts that they may eventually replace. For Edelman, Wes Welker was that veteran. For Olszewski, that veteran is Edelman.

When Olszewski first arrived in New England, he watched film of Edelman and other New England receivers before him, because the former Div. 2 standout wanted to be just like them.

"When I first got here I wanted to be just like the Patriots greats like Troy Brown or like Julian [Edelman]," Olszewski said Sunday during his video conference with the media.

However, Olszewski realized quickly realized doing that isn't the right way to try and establish a career for himself in the NFL.

How did he come to that realization? With a little help from the Super LIII MVP, of course.

"Some advice that [Julian Edelman] gave me last year, he's like 'don't do what I do," you know, 'you'll find your way, you'll figure out what works for you,'" Olszewski said. "So not really. Obviously I see stuff that he does, or other guys on the team like Mo Sanu does and I try to take bits and pieces of it. But for the most part everybody's different in how they move, so it's kind of figuring it out for yourself."

Olszewski is taking the advice of his veteran teammate, and it's paying off. The second-year wideout has been one of the frequent standouts at Patriots training camp this summer, according to reporter's on-scene for the practices.

Gunner Olszewski's progress has been eye opening. He's been consistent every day. He had a fumble (maybe 2) today, but he's quick and can get open against the Patriots secondary. That says a lot. It looks like his route running and hands are way ahead of where he was last summer
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) August 24, 2020

Another note: This speaks to the Patriots' talent at WR but also his development, Gunner Olszewski has looked like the second best WR in camp behind Julian Edelman, though N'Keal Harry made a push today.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) August 24, 2020

Based on his experience with the system, production during camp and his abilities as a returner, there's no doubt Gunner Olszewski is making the Patriots' 53-man roster. But what has yet to be determined is how productive he can be when the games begin.

In eight games played last season, Olszewski was targeted four times and caught two of them for a total of 34 yards. He was his most effective during his rookie year as a return man; he totaled 179 yards on 20 returns, averaging 9.0 yards per return. Unfortunately, a decent start to his rookie campaign came to a screeching halt when he was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 19.

With all of the Patriots receivers full healthy, which was far from the case last year, it will be interesting to see what kind of role Olszewski can carve out for himself this year on offense. What we do know is that the weirdest offseason of all time took place for the NFL this year due to COVID-19, so the possibilities are endless as to what goes down when the regular season is underway.

And for Gunner Olszewski that could be a very, very good thing.

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