In this week’s edition of the NFL Notebook, we square away a few more questions when it comes to the Patriots’ coaching staff, wonder why Julian Edelman has never been named a captain, and recall our favorite Pacman Jones story involving the Patriots. But first, we take a closer look at N’Keal Harry’s week, and wonder where he could fit when it comes to the history of rookie receivers in New England.
1. Travelle Gaines is a good hype man. The trainer, who worked with Patriots’ rookie receiver N’Keal Harry, predicted Harry will win Offensive Rookie of the Year earlier in the week, and reached by phone a couple of days later, went all in.
“I do think he’ll be the Offensive Rookie of the Year,” said Gaines, who runs his own performance facility in Arizona and had worked with Harry this offseason. “Think about it. He’s going into a place where he will be that second or third option in the passing game. He’s going to be part of things every week — he’s durable. I know they’re a game-plan offense, but the chance to be able to work with Julian Edelman gives him an edge. Kyler Murray and others like Hollywood Brown will do well, but N’Keal is ready for the challenge.
“He’s a very hard worker — he’s going to do everything he can to be able to pick up the playbook as fast as possible,” Gaines added. “He’s never missed a game because of injury. He played in 37 games in college — that shows you that he’s not only willing to put his body on the line to play the position, but he’s a big tough kid who knows how to take care of his body.”
There are some long odds, and it's worth mentioning the Patriots haven't had a rookie of the year award winner since Jerod Mayo was named Defensive Rookie of he Year in 2008. But Harry impressed in the first open OTA session on Thursday, working consistently with what appeared to be a reasonable facsimile of the first-team offense and catching a variety of passes from all three quarterbacks.
A sturdy and sure-handed target, Gaines predicts a 1,000-yard season, and understands the comparisons between Harry and Dez Bryant.
“I haven’t coached N’Keal on the field from a performance standpoint, but there’s no quit in him,” Gaines said. “I’ve never seen anything in him to think he wasn’t mentally tough. I can see how some would make the comparison to Dez Bryant — not because he’s an emotional guy who might let that get the best of him, but because he’s a big receiver who is just a fiery guy. N’Keal is a total team-first guy. He’s all about the team. His teammate love him.”
It’s a family affair. pic.twitter.com/klcWi6Wdcf
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) May 25, 2019
No. 83, Matt Lacosse:
Today, we are finally farther away from the Super Bowl (108 days) than we are from the 2019 NFL opening game (107 days).#NFLEquinox @peter_king @AdamSchefter @cpriceNFL
— Gary Marbry (@nuggetpalooza) May 21, 2019