Expectations for N’Keal Harry are sky-high as he embarks on his rookie season in Foxboro.
Not only did New England use a first-round pick on Harry — the first wideout taken in the opening round by the Bill Belichick-led Patriots — the team also features a rather pedestrian collection of pass-catchers as the 2019 campaign nears. Outside of Julian Edelman, there currently aren’t any sure-handed targets among New England’s wide receivers and tight ends.
As such, Patriots fans aren’t just hoping Harry to be an impact player from Day 1, they’re expecting it. But if you ask Reggie Wayne, it might be in their best interest to ease up a bit on the hype.
“I think you got to sit back and you got to look at a young receiver coming into this league,” Wayne recently said on NFL Network. “I’ve always said it’s going to take you a year to maybe a year and a half before you can adjust to the speed and what’s going on for an NFL football team, especially being a receiver playing with a guy like Tom Brady.
“I just think you have to pump the brakes a little bit with N’Keal Harry and just understand that it’s a process and give him a year or so before he can actually go out there and play fast and not think.”
Wayne makes fair points. Making your way in the NFL is difficult enough, but trying to shine in the Patriots’ complicated offense is a whole different animal. Just look at the fairly long list of highly-drafted and previously successful wideouts who’ve flaked out in New England. There’s no reason to believe Harry won’t be a successful NFL player, but it shouldn’t come as a total shocker if he’s not lighting it up from the get-go.
