From one second to the next, Robert Edwards’ life was changed forever. Before he jumped up to defend a pass in a four-on-four flag football game leading up to the NFL’s 1999 Pro Bowl, he was a star in the making: the New England Patriots had drafted him with the 18th overall selection just ten months earlier and he immediately had an impact on a team that had to replace lead running back Curtis Martin, who had left for the New York Jets.
Serving as the Patriots’ new top option in the backfield, the Georgia product saw action in all 17 of his team’s games that season and quickly showed why a first-round pick was invested in him.