Super Bowl MVP won by Julian Edelman | CNN

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Atlanta CNN —

The NFL’s version of a Swiss Army knife is Super Bowl LIII MVP.

Julian Edelman spent his college years as a quarterback, first at the College of San Mateo in California before transferring to Kent State. But in his 10-year professional career, Edelman has made his case in the NFL as a hall-of-fame wide receiver.

“Did I ever think I was going to be an NFL receiver?” Edelman said of his college days. “At the time, I didn’t. I was just trying to go out and help Kent State win some ball games. I really wasn’t thinking about that.”

Now, at 32 years old, with his 10 catches for 141 yards in Sunday’s 13-3 win against the Los Angeles Rams, Edelman has won his third Super Bowl and is the seventh wide receiver to win Super Bowl MVP. It comes after he missed all of last season because of a torn ACL and the first four games of this season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

“I wasn’t focused on that,” Edelman said of his performance. “I was just trying to go out and have a good week of practice and do my job. Sometimes, the cookie crumbles that way.”

Said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick: “Julian always gives us those kinds of plays – tough plays, tough catches, catch-and-run plays, breaking tackles for a few extra yards, third down. He did a tremendous job.”

A seventh-round pick by New England in the 2009 NFL draft, Edelman has done it all: He’s covered kicks, returned kicks, played slot receiver, outside receiver and slot defender.

He already was part of Super Bowl lore. In Super Bowl LI, Edelman made one of the all-time best catches to keep the Patriots’ greatest comeback in Super Bowl history alive. He fought off three Atlanta Falcons defenders – even going through the legs of one of them – and somehow scooped up the ball before it hit the ground.

And on Sunday, he was there when the Patriots needed him again.

“He’s a fighter, man, that kid,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said on Sunday. “He’s – I’m just so proud of him. He’s been an incredible player for this team in the playoffs and he just cemented himself, again, in the history of the NFL for what his accomplishments are.”

Edelman said Brady is like a brother to him.