The New England Patriots never received what they needed from former first-round pick N’Keal Harry.
Harry, who reportedly was traded from the Patriots to the Chicago Bears on Tuesday, was selected No. 32 overall by Bill Belichick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The Arizona State product was selected in hopes of helping quarterback Tom Brady on another title run, but ended up being traded before the end of his rookie contract.
Harry constantly was judged given the class of receivers he emerged from. He entered the league with players like Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf and even someone like Hunter Renfrow — all of whom he was drafted before. But not only did he fail to compare with those up-and-coming stars, he failed to stack up against the vast majority of the league.
Patriots fans certainly might recall the then-sophomore’s Week 2 output with Cam Newton behind center in Seattle. Harry went for career highs in catches (eight), targets (12) and yards (72) against the Seahawks. Perhaps it would be his coming out party? Nope. He then combine for 61 yards over the next four games.
Harry’s inconsistencies were easy to see with the eye test, and his lack of production is even easier to notice upon diving into the numbers.
Harry finished with 598 yards on 57 receptions in three combine seasons. He scored four touchdowns in 33 games. There were 152 receivers in the NFL who produced more receiving yards than Harry dating back to when he entered the league in 2019, as compiled by Sportradar.
Harry’s 103 career targets ranked 128th in the league. He sits behind former Patriots like Chris Hogan and Phillip Dorsett in that category, players the franchise hoped he would be far better than given his projected talent.
While so many other NFL offenses look to get the ball in the hands of their playmaker, Harry never took to that role either. He was responsible for just seven rushing attempts, the majority being sweeps, during the three seasons with Josh McDaniels calling plays. Harry’s 64 scrimmage touches rank 132nd in the league while his 647 yards from scrimmage rank 178th among wideouts since 2019.
Additionally, despite possessing the size and strength of a 6-foot-4, 235-pound wideout, Harry never evolved into a big-play threat. He would show flashes of his ability to catch the ball in traffic, but that too was littered with inconsistencies. Harry ranked outside the top 200 receivers in air yards per reception (206th, 7.8), average yards at catch (216th, 7.5) and air yards per target (231st, 10.1), per Sportradar. Those advanced stats are based on the average with no minimum as to the number of games played, but it clearly indicates Harry’s lack of down-field ability.
All told, it’s easy to see just how little the Patriots received from their former first-rounder. And there’s no debating that quarterback Mac Jones and the offense would be better off if Belichick had gone a different way with that pick.
