You can't really blame Julian Edelman for liking Tom Brady. Brady's made him millions and netted him a Super Bowl ring by virtue of his talents as Patriots quarterback.

But he, like, REALLY appreciates Brady. Edelman's said he pretended to be Brady in the eighth grade and at one point recently his teammate Rob Gronkowski called him out for being a huge fan of the quarterback.

He's taken it to a whole new level recently -- in a good way -- by apparently copying Brady's style of ladyfriend. Brady is married to Brazilian supermodel Gisele and now Edelman is apparently dating Adriana Lima, a friend of Gisele's and another Brazilian supermodel.

TMZ even reports the pair, who are "not exclusive" were out holding hands.

We're told they're NOT exclusive ... at least not yet ... but they seem to be into each other. They've also introduced each other to their friends ... which is usually a pretty significant step.

In fact, EdeLima was spotted out on a day date at Straight Wharf in Nantucket over the weekend holding hands!

They've got photos of the duo waltzing along the pier in just such fashion and it's pretty humorous since Lima is actually taller than Edelman.

She probably makes more money too: there's a good chance Gisele ($44 million a year according to Forbes) is bringing in more household income than Brady, and there's a borderline guarantee Lima is making more, pulling in $9 million a year according to Forbes.

She is also not unattractive.

Edelman signed a four-year, $17 million deal and will be a free agent after 2017. At least from a football perspective: if things break right he might not be on the market elsewhere by then.