Bedard: Desperate for help at WR, Belichick finally takes first-round plunge with versatile N'Keal Harry

If you looked over the Patriots' depth chart before the first round of the draft Thursday night, you wouldn't see a whole lot of glaring needs, if you were being honest.

As per his method of operation, Bill Belichick spent the run-up to the draft, and what little cap room they had during the height of free agency to at least address the needs, in some fashion. Not to say it was all a finished product by any means, but the Patriots at least gave themselves options.

Our No. 1 need was Y (in-line tight end), after the retirement by Rob Gronkowski. Enter Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Not the total answer, but it was something.

No. 2 on our list was a starting-caliber nose tackle with Malcom Brown (Saints) and Danny Shelton (free agent) off the roster. Enter Mike Pennel from the Jets. While the Patriots could use another big body at the position, Pennel is a starter, and the Patriots can line up tomorrow for a game.

And No. 4 on our list was a veteran edge player after the departure of Trey Flowers. That was solved by the trade for Michael Bennett. Could they use another one? Sure. But, again, the Patriots can field a team.

After that, the needs consisted of a youth infusion at spots where the Patriots are getting older, and a few depth additions.

It left just one really glaring need: a starting caliber receiver -- we had that as the No. 3 need on our list.

But GM Belichick takes your needs lists and, well, we'll let Jack Edwards take it from here...

https://twitter.com/Chad_Amaral/status/1120865008399933440

And would Belichick really go for a receiver in the first round for the first time, especially with the team's porous history at the position — do we really need to trot out the names of Chad Jackson, Bethel Johnson, Aaron Dobson, et al?

Apparently, Belichick would finally take the receiver first-round plunge as the team selected Arizona State's N'Keal Harry with the 32nd overall pick. (Only position left to draft in the first round now is quarterback ... and Tom Brady will be 43 heading into the 2020 season, just saying.)

So, why this player and this position now?

1. The need was just too great

The Patriots were linked to just about every free-agent receiver during this #GoodTryGoodEffort offseason where they seemed to be late or offering less money than a lot of them were looking for. From Golden Tate and Adam Humphries to Cole Beasley, the Patriots were reportedly in the mix on all of them, but wound up with Bruce Ellington and Maurice Harris. You could put at least some of the blame on Rob Gronkowski's status being in limbo — his cap money would have been helpful — but the Patriots were simply out of cap space during the early part of the offseason.

They did end up signing Demaryius Thomas, but he's 31 and coming back from his second Achilles tear. If he contributes at all, it might not be until later in the season. The Patriots do have Josh Gordon under contract, but who knows if/when he'll be reinstated — or if he'll even last the season. The Patriots also re-signed Phillip Dorsett. But even though he appeared to be a functioning member of the offense, he was limited to a bit role for a few reasons.

So, yeah, the Patriots could have used a player immediately from the draft.

2. All the defensive tackles were gone

We'll never really know if receiver was the plan all along, or the Patriots were a victim of circumstance. What we do know is it would have been a huge reach had the Patriots selected a defensive tackle at 32 because six went in the first round, including four in the top 20. Once Dexter Lawrence and Jeffrey Simmons went off the board at 17 (Giants) and 19 (Mike Vrabel's Titans), respectively, the last viable first-round DT went 28th to the Chargers (Jerry Tillery). After that, it was a big drop off to the Trysten Hills and Kingsley Kekes of the prospect world.

So if Belichick was hoping to grab his next big body for the defensive line after the departures of Malcom Brown (Saints) and Danny Shelton (still a free agent who's return now can't be ruled out).

3. Harry could help the Patriots in a number of ways

Let's just say Harry shows a lot of promise. When watching film of Harry, two immediate thoughts came to my mind: he's Cordarrelle Patterson with the ball in his hand (without the top-end speed), and he's similar to Dez Bryant down the field (just not quite as athletic at the high point). That's not a bad combination at all.

I looked up the physical comparisons for all three players and, yup, they're very similar, especially Harry to Bryant.

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Patterson may have more breakaway speed, but Harry matches him just as well in terms of breaking tackles (PFF had him for 38 in three seasons) and also avoiding tackles on hitches and screens. So that part of the Patriots' playbook can very much stay in. I also wouldn't be surprised if Harry gets an opportunity to return both punts (he did that Arizona State) and kickoffs. In fact, I expect it.


As far as how Harry would function in the Patriots' offense: he's a bonafide X boundary receiver in the same vein as Gordon, Thomas and, before them, Malcolm Mitchell. It shouldn't take Harry very long to get up to speed with Brady on back-shoulder throws, which have become more of a staple of the Patriots' offense. Harry also ran a variety of routes — a full route tree — and appears to play with smarts (his Wonderlic of 24 would be on the high end of drafted Patriots receivers — Deion Branch had a 26 — and that has proved to be very important in this complicated scheme).

And the other thing to keep in mind? When Belichick evaluates receivers, the skill he looks at first is how the receiver is on 50-50 balls, or contested catches. Just about every NFL catch is contested by the best athletes — especially when it comes to crunch time in the high-stakes games the Patriots are always playing in (think playoff games against the Chiefs, Rams).

4. Don't discount the Josh McDaniels factor

Belichick is still running the show, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he leaned on his offensive coordinator a little more for this pick. After making his first appearance at the head draft room table last season, McDaniels was back in the same spot for this draft. McDaniels also successfully selected similar players to Harry in Thomas and Eric Decker with the Broncos. Both found their way to New England. We don't think that's a coincidence.