Julian Edelman is impressed with N'Keal Harry

AP

Julian Edelman may be one of the toughest competitors out there, but he does have a bit of a sensitive side.

When Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports spoke to Edelman on Wednesday about newcomer N’Keal Harry, it came as a pleasant surprise that the veteran is offering some help and advice to the rookie.

“I like to be known as a teammate that would help you,” Edelman explained. “I like to give little pointers here and there because the better we all are, the better we are as a team. I like going out and trying to give information if they want information and go form there. Part of the job, I guess.”

Edelman recalled the times when former Patriots players had his back when he first joined the team.

“That’s the ebbs and flows of being new in an environment, especially for a rookie,” he said. “There’s gonna be bad days, there’s gonna be good days, there’s gonna be days where you don’t do anything. When I was a rookie, there was a guy by the name of Fred Taylor, I’d get a ride from him at the Residence Inn (Foxboro) in his Range Rover and he’d say, ‘Rook, it’s a roller coaster. You gotta ride that ride and keep it level-minded.’”

Edelman is taking a “been there, done that” approach to understanding where Harry is coming from when dealing with a whole new environment, which is allowing him to have a strong respect for the New England Patriots first-round pick.

“He’s a big kid and he works hard,” Edelman said. “We’re gonna need him to play well. We’re gonna need everyone to play well.”

“It’s tough to play receiver here, but he doing a good job at that by not making the same mistakes. I’m not a coach, but I like his attitude. I like his body. He’s got a big body… got some nice abs too… hopefully he comes in and can help right away.”

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