Several wide receivers from the 2019 draft class have become standouts. Despite being a first-round pick, N’Keal Harry is not among them. But the Patriots wideout has shown flashes in his abbreviated tenure. His inconsistent production, however, appears to have teams wondering if the Patriots have seen enough.
Teams are calling the Pats about Harry, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (video link). Two years remain on Harry’s rookie contract, with a fifth-year option decision not due until 2022. However, Harry is a bit off the option radar at this point.
New England selected Harry with the last pick in the 2019 first round. The 6-foot-4 Arizona State product has totaled only 414 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 21 games. But he has not exactly been thrust into ideal circumstances.
Harry missed the first half of his rookie season due to injury and did not contribute much in Tom Brady‘s final months with the franchise. The COVID-19 pandemic keeping players away from team facilities prevented Harry from working with Cam Newton, who did not sign until late June, during the 2020 offseason. Newton’s subsequent struggles limited New England’s passing game, with Harry undoubtedly contributing a bit to the veteran passer’s woes.
Were they to deal Harry this offseason, the Patriots would be selling quite low. Neither of his final two rookie-contract cap numbers surpass $3.5MM. Teams also will have an abundance of receivers to choose from in free agency, and this draft is expected to feature another strong wideout crop. The Pats will surely add to their present group, and it will be interesting to see where Harry stands when they are done doing so.
Keep him. He’s a serviceable WR3. Meyers works as a WR2. Patriots just need a WR1 and and QB who can throw,
And a TE
Make that 2 TE so the full back who is not a pass catcher type is not out routes
He’s really not even a “serviceable” WR3.
WR would be a lot better if Myers was the 3 and Harry was a situational 4 with potential. To be competitive at the position they really need a legit 1 and 2. There are few teams where Myers would be the second best receiver let alone the best option as he is currently.
He’s not worth keeping; too timid, runs iffy routes and doesn’t have separation speed/agility.. He is a big target but he’s usually draped by coverage (lack of separation speed). You can’t do much to correct the lack of speed except learning precision route running – he just doesn’t have the ability at this level (I’ve seen every Pats game he’s appeared in and it’s not pretty – even the non-TD fumble at the goal line game – that was pretty until he fumbled into and out of the end zone for a turnover).
I feel like he’s mentally soft..
Slowest guy out there. At 6’4” 225, they should convert him to a pass catching tight end, because he’s not an nfl receiver.
He couldn’t block to save his own life.. Making him a TE would be bad. Even pass catching TE’s have to block a bit.
They should get whatever they can for him now rather then later we all know they won’t pick up his opinion and they won’t resign him so get something for now and don’t be like Doofus Danny
I wanted him on the 49ers so could a trade happen there you can have jimmy give us him lol
Hell, I’d do that in a heartbeat
Belichick and the Eagles are competing to see who is more pathetic with their WR situation.
Pats have had that award for the past 3yrs it won’t change this yr Bill can’t draft offensive players for crap besides White and Gronk and a 7th round QB who’s turned into one of their best WR in the past 10 yrs Bill has missed on all the rest
(I don’t add OL guys because I give that credit to the OL coach)
Just White and Gronk? I agree it’s not BB’s strong suit, and we all know he’s a defensive minded coach anyway, but to say White and Gronk are the only solid offensive players drafted by BB is silly.. Did you forget about Brady? And regardless of being a sociopathic murderer, Hernandez was a spectacular TE too.
— Look at his record w/Undrafted free agents too, it all has to be looked at as a whole (I’d say being in the playoffs 90% of his Head Coaching tenure in NE should nullify any shortcomings he has in the Draft on the offensive side).
— BTW, it’s funny how people are so hard on NE when BB has the best coaching record/successful 20 year run ever in the history of the NFL. People also bypass the fact he was one of the more successful DC’s before that. Hell, he was even able to get a Browns team to the playoffs in his first HC stint…. There’s nothing to see here! 32 teams in the NFL and NE did it in a time where league parity was pushed and dynasties weren’t supposed to happen.
Just chill people
True. But, BB typically dips into FA market for wide outs which I agree with. He just had no money last year bc they spent forward to win titles between 2015-2019.
Looking at draft history, teams are typically 50% in the draft. Check this out:
3/22 QB’s taken in 1st round from 2008-2016 are no longer with original team (M. Ryan, and I counted A. Luck & M. Stafford bc they were successful)
The fact is that WR aside, BB hits on OL, DL, LB, S, RB’s, TE’s and CB’s.
He also does great things like trade out of 1st round for a higher volume of picks & he does better than anyone after round 4.
Draft history:
link to footballoutsiders.com
Owners get such a favorable financial bargain on rookies for those first couple of years that there really is no incentive to part with them. Even a WR as bad as Kevin White made it to his option year so I don’t think Harry will be going anywhere.
Jets?
Pretty weak excuse to say that his struggles were because he didn’t get a chance to work with Newton, as almost nobody in the entire league got the chance to do off-season work with their quarterbacks. Plenty of young receivers showed their talent this year despite of that – Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, etc.
The fact of the matter is that Belichick the GM can’t hold a candle to Belichick the coach.
All of those guys had quarterbacks that were with the team before July. Meaning, they had a QB who knew the system and other players and coaches who knew the QB. That was not the whole reason for Harry’s struggles, but it IS actually really fair to point out that it didn’t make it easier.
Brady, who was there from the get-go, would not throw to him fyi
True, but Newton and the system that the Pats ran with him was very different than the old Brady system. Besides, like I said, it wasn’t just that. It just didn’t help, and those reps are still significant. They’re more significant for Newton and Harry than they were with Brady and Harry because Newton obviously was new to the team and because Harry also did not have an established role due to his disappointing start. Harry also missed practice reps with Brady if I recall correctly. I’m not arguing that he hasn’t been a disappointment-I’m just giving a couple of the reasons why.
I honestly think that he needs a change of scenery and that the Pats should get what they can-Harry was definitely a pick for Brady to deliver some high level value at that position (which is obviously out of Belichick’s comfort zone), and it didn’t work. It’s doubtful that the Pats are super attached now that Brady is gone and that Harry is not playing well. I think a trade is the best bet for them and him both.
Patriots and Titans would have matched well on a Harry-Wilson trade. Pats just lost an OT (Thuney) and Titans just lost a WR (Davis), both first round talents needing a change of scenery.