ATLANTA — Teammates have called their relationship a “bromance.”

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady himself openly uses the word love to describe his bond with Julian Edelman, a receiver he’s come to depend on during his career.

As the duo prepares to play in a fourth Super Bowl together, each says the connection might be tighter ever — both on and off the field.

“We have a great relationship, Jules and I, and I trust him so much,” Brady says. “He’s always been kind of like my little brother, in a good way. I don’t have a little brother, but he’s kind of like a little brother and he knows how much I love him.”

In Edelman’s case, it’s a little brother who has established himself as one of the best slot receivers in Patriots history.

He missed the entire 2017 season with a torn ACL and the first four games of this season for violating the league’s performance enhancers policy. But the 32-year-old helped Brady steady an offense that struggled early this season and had to adjust following the suspension of Josh Gordon heading into the final two games.

Edelman ended the regular season with a team-high 850 receiving yards and was second on the team with 74 receptions and six touchdowns. His production has continued through New England’s first two playoffs games, with Edelman hauling in 16 catches for a team-high 247 yards.

Heading into the matchup with the Rams, his 1,271 postseason receiving yards are the most in Patriots history. There are also just two receivers in NFL postseason history with over 100 catches: Jerry Rice with 151 and Edelman with 105.

It’s earned him high compliments not only from Brady, but from Rice, who praised Edelman as someone who has an attitude of “’I’m going to do what I want to do, and I’m going to go out and I’m going to ball.”

It not unlike the determination used to describe Brady, who at age 41 continues to prove his skeptics wrong.