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Malik Cunningham looking to follow in Julian Edelman’s footsteps as former QB turned receiver
“He’s not the fastest guy, but he knows how to get open."
FOXBOROUGH — Malik Cunningham has his work cut out for him this training camp.
A standout quarterback during his time at Louisville, Cunningham signed with the Patriots as an undrafted rookie this offseason in hopes of carving out a role as a wide receiver on New England’s depth chart.
It’s one thing to try to earn a spot in the NFL at your tried-and-true position, especially one as refined as quarterback. But it’s another endeavor entirely to learn a new position while lining up against pro competition.
Thankfully, Cunningham doesn’t have to search very far for help when it comes to his career trajectory.
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If Cunningham hopes to stick in the NFL as a wideout, following another QB-turned-wideout in Julian Edelman seems like the right course to chart. And on Thursday morning, Cunningham sought some advice from the Patriots legend.
“He came in the training room. He told me to just keep my head down, keep working, just keep learning from the older guys and just keep being a sponge with everything,” Cunningham said of Edelman, who was on hand for practice at Gillette Stadium. “You can learn so much throughout the building as a receiver, a quarterback, just learning from the defensive guys and what they’re thinking, different coverages. Just picking their brains. It’s been fun.”
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Edelman was once considered a long shot to carve out a regular role on New England’s depth chart, with the Patriots selecting the Kent State QB in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft.
Initially relegated to special-teams play, Edelman’s football IQ, drive, and cutting ability allowed him to quickly push his way up the ladder in Foxborough. The rest, of course, is history.
“He’s not the fastest guy, but he knows how to get open,” Cunningham said of Edelman. “Just using leverage based on the defender, and when the ball gets in your hands, just being a weapon with it. That’s something I feel like I’m accustomed to doing since I’ve been playing football. Getting the ball in my hands and making defenders miss.”
Speaking after Thursday’s practice, Edelman acknowledged that his advice to Cunningham is similar to the one he shares with every rookie looking to find an identity up in the NFL ranks.
“Like I tell a lot of these young guys, what I learned at a young age from Scott O’Brien, who was a special teams guru, he said, ‘There’s going to be good plays and bad plays, but with every play, there is a bit of experience that you gain,’” Edelman told reporters at Gillette Stadium. “So the guys that can digest that bad play and learn from that experience, it helps them, so I just kind of explained that to young guys. And mistakes are going to be made all the time, you just can’t make the same mistake twice. That’s how you get replaced.”
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So far, Cunningham has taken on whatever role the Patriots coaches have handed him.
“Because you’re not going to be exactly [Edelman] — he’s one of a kind, just the type of player he is. I’m just trying to pick different stuff from his game and add it to mine.”
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