It’s impossible not to look at how N’Keal Harry has played this training camp and not wonder: “What’s changed with him?”
According to Jakobi Meyers, nothing has changed.
Harry, the oft-maligned 2019 first-round pick, has underwhelmed in two seasons with the New England Patriots. That’s due to injuries and ineffectiveness when playing, but whatever the prevailing cause, it prompted him to request a trade out of New England last month.
He’s since indicated he’s fine staying with the Patriots, and at times looked plenty sharp in practice. Meyers, an undrafted free agent from 2019 who has had a far more successful NFL career than Harry thus far, boils it down simply to good practice historically not translating to games for Harry.
“I feel like (N’Keal) is the same guy,” Meyers told reporters Tuesday, via WEEI.com. “It’s just not everybody got to see the same (N’Keal) that I saw. You didn’t get to see how hard he worked off the field or the time that he put in. You just saw what happened on game day.
“Like I said, football doesn’t necessarily love anybody. Sometimes the ball don’t bounce your way, and that’s all they saw. They didn’t see all the work he’s put in behind the scenes.”
Indeed, Harry at times has been the victim of bad luck. Perhaps this is him seizing the opportunity to turn things around.
At his best, the 23-year-old is an aggressive pass-catcher whose ability to win jump-ball battles is especially useful in the red zone. He’s shown the ability to do that in the NFL at times, but not nearly often enough. Ultimately, the best scenario for the Patriots is Harry blossoming into the receiver they envisioned when they drafted him.
Harry is by no means a roster lock though, and could very well still get traded in the coming weeks. For now, it’s clear he’s putting in work and trying to separate himself.
Maybe that shouldn’t be as much of a surprise as it feels.
