Long after the Nebraska football season was over and we all tuned into Super Bowl 51, I’ll openly admit that I rooted against the Patriots. Damn that Tom Brady and damn those Falcons. That said, there’s a former Husker that needs to be on Bill Belichick’s roster after the NFL Draft is over one way or another.
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Jordan Westerkamp has been a staple of Nebraska football ever since he caught a Hail Mary pass against Northwestern in 2013.
He didn’t quite reach the heights that fans thought he would when it came to eclipsing the mystical 1,000 single-season receiving yard mark, but he didn’t have to. He made catches that most wideouts wouldn’t. He ran crisp routes and was open more times than he wasn’t.
Westerkamp has always — always — been a good interview. Attentive and well-spoken, like he’s been groomed for a future as a politician. He’s not just a good football player, but a loving son and brother. He’s a good guy, the kind of guy you root for not only on the football field but in life.
It is because of these reasons that, quite frankly, he deserves to be on a team that is hated by so many because they simply cannot be stopped. They keep winning and winning. Despite what Westerkamp has been told as his career has gone on, he has kept winning and winning.
"Undersized, slow, not athletic" #ProveThemWrong
— Jordan Westerkamp (@JordanWesty1) February 12, 2017
It’s appropriate that he rooted for the Patriots in the Super Bowl (I’ll forgive him). Apparently, he was all about New England because of guys like Julian Edelman who made an absolutely mind-boggling catch against the Falcons. Edelman is at the root of my belief here because I could very well see the stars aligning. Westerkamp could very well have “next.”
Edelman’s been with the Patriots for eight years and has been a favorite target of Tom Brady for the past four. In 55 games played from 2013-2016 (46 started), he accumulated 356 receptions for 3,826 yards and 20 touchdowns. That’s an average yearly stat line of 89 catches for 957 yards and five scores.
He’s 30 years old, all of 5-10, 200 pounds and he’s been playing in Foxborough for eight years now. He’ll be pulling down $5,750,000 in the final year of a four-year contract before he becomes a free agent in 2018. Whether or not he comes back or retires, that’s up in the air, but he can’t have that much left in the tank.
The Patriots make hay thanks to their slot receivers and that’s where Westerkamp projects best in the NFL. He’s got two inches on Edelman but weighs in just about the same.
Bill Belichick, that savvy, ever-hoodied son of a gun saw something special in former Husker Vincent Valentine and the rookie got himself a Super Bowl ring. I can’t shake the idea that he looks at a guy like Westerkamp and thinks “Edelman 2.0.”
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Interestingly, Edelman was selected in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft at No. 232 overall. With the 255th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, wouldn’t it be interesting to see the Patriots pick Westerkamp?
My…distaste for the Patriots aside, No. 1 deserves the opportunity to play with one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game.
Here’s hoping he gets the opportunity. It couldn’t happen to a better guy and if Belichick comes looking, I find it hard to think he doesn’t give Westerkamp a good look and maybe sit him down for a long chat.