Julian Edelman did though. In fact Welker's stats in Denver and Edelman's on the Patriots line up almost exactly. Pats fans will take that to mean that Edelman is another superstar naturally.
There are a couple caveats between Edelman and Welker this year.
The stats between the two:
Edelman: 16 GP, 105 REC, 1056 yards, 6 TDs, 151 Tgts
Welker: 13 GP, 73 REC, 778 yards, 10 TDs, 110 Tgts
First,Welker played 13 games, while Edelman played 16. That's 3 games of production that Welker missed out on. So the numbers would align even more so.
Second, Welker was not the primary target in the offense as Edelman was. So that is additional production that fluffed Edelman's stats over Welkers.
I agree with you that the numbers would align more closely if the circumstances were right. I thought Welker's production would take a hit when he came to this offense, and I think some thought I was crazy to say that he would have less than 100 receptions.
As far as a superstar, I don't think he is, but he's a damn good slot WR. Personally, I think he was worth the money as he opens up the offense in the sense that he gives another short yardage option. That's invaluable in my eyes as it eases up the pressure on the run, and by default opens up the passing game to some degree. You don't really base your offense around him of course, but he's a luxury that makes the offense that much harder to defend. Edelman would be the same way if they had legitimate threats in the form of other receivers. Basically a luxury item.
If I was the Pats, I would pay for a legitimate #1 WR before even thinking about paying for Edelman. Even with Gronk back.