Why 49ers-Titans Game Was Hard To Watch For Patriots Fans

New England Patriots fans probably don’t need a reminder of what their team missed by choosing not to draft A.J. Brown or Deebo Samuel back in 2019. But they got one Thursday night.

Squaring off for the first time in their respective NFL careers, Brown and Samuel stuffed the stat sheet in the Tennessee Titans’ 20-17 primetime win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Brown finished with 11 catches on 16 targets for 145 yards and a touchdown for the victorious Titans. Samuel? Nine catches on 11 targets for 159 yards for San Francisco, plus an additional 32 yards on five carries.

The Patriots, of course, had a chance to draft both players three years ago. They wound up taking N’Keal Harry at No. 32 overall, the final pick of the first round. Samuel went four picks later. Brown fell to No. 51, six slots after New England grabbed cornerback Joejuan Williams with its second selection.

Brown and Samuel are two of the many standout receivers produced by the 2019 draft — a list that also includes DK Metcalf, Terry McLaurin, Diontae Johnson and Hunter Renfrow — and both had pre-draft connections to the Patriots.

Samuel shouted out Bill Belichick on Instagram after a visit to Gillette Stadium, saying: “Hey Billy, I’ll see you in a month, my man.” Brown said he “cried (his) eyes out” when the Patriots didn’t take him at No. 32.

“I just knew I was going to the Patriots, because I was a big Patriots fan,” he said last year on Barstool Sports’ “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast.

Brown has 179 catches for 2,886 yards and 23 touchdowns in his three-year NFL career. Samuel has 160 for 2,440 and nine scores, plus an additional 486 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns (Kyle Shanahan has begun using him as a de facto running back at times this season). They rank first and second in their draft class in both receiving yards per game and yards per target (minimum 35 targets).

Harry’s career stats: 55 catches, 583 yards, four touchdowns. He’s 15th among 2019-drafted wideouts in receiving yards per game and 20th in yards per reception and per target.

At this point, it’s unlikely Harry will ever live up to his first-round billing. His single-season career high for receiving yards is 309 in 2020 — a total Brown and Samuel nearly matched between them Thursday night. The former Arizona State star actually has shown noticeable improvement this season — his 16.9 yards-per-catch average leads all Patriots pass-catchers, and he’s been a valuable blocker in the run game — but he’s managed just 10 total receptions in 10 games.

Harry, though, could have a golden opportunity to contribute this Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. Kendrick Bourne (COVID list) and Nelson Agholor (concussion) have been unable to practice this week, leaving Jakobi Meyers, Harry, return man Gunner Olszewski and practice squadders Kristian Wilkerson and Tre Nixon as the Patriots’ only available wideouts.