FOXBOROUGH — The biggest test for a new Patriots’ receiver? Winning the trust of Tom Brady.
In the short-term, it looks like newcomer Maurice Harris took a sizable step in the right direction during Wednesday’s minicamp session when he spent a lot of time running with what appeared to be a reasonable-looking facsimile of the first-team offense, working both in the slot and on the boundary. He showed a nice set of hands, especially over the middle in 11-on-11 work with Brady at quarterback -- at one point, Brady had three consecutive completions to the 26-year-old Harris, drawing a series of cheers from the rest of the offense.
Harris was an under-the-radar addition in March, but a deeper dive on his resume reveals a steady performer who has shown a nice knack for holding on to anything that’s in his area. While he hasn’t had a ton of work in his three years in the NFL — 40 catches for 432 yards and a touchdown in three years with Washington — when he gets his hands on a ball, he holds on to it. ProFootballFocus.com had him with just one drop in three seasons.
That has shown up the first two days of minicamp. While we’ll hold off on any sort of sweeping judgments about Harris at this point on the calendar — it’s easy to go over the middle for passes when guys are in shorts and T-shirts — without Josh Gordon and Demaryius Thomas on the field, Harris has distinguished himself by making the most of the opportunities that have been presented to him at this point on the calendar.
“It’s good. I think it’s good to get the experience,” he said when asked about the chance to run with the starting offense. “The best thing? It’s just being out there and getting to go through it and kind of get those game situations, just to get the feel for it. Obviously, I have a lot of learning to do and improving, but it feels good to be out there and getting the reps.”
Over the last 15-plus years, the slot position in New England has traditionally been the domain of undersized pass catchers like Troy Brown, Wes Welker, and Julian Edelman. But the 6-foot-3 Harris brings a different dynamic — used more out of the slot than almost anywhere else in his three years with Washington (PFF had him taking 49 percent of his offensive snaps out of the slot last season), he’s a bigger target than usual. We’ll see how that might manifest itself down the road with the Patriots, but for much of the first two minicamp practices, Harris has looked steady and consistent either in the slot or lined up split wide.
“A lot of people don’t think that tall receivers are supposed to be in the slot, but I mean, I feel comfortable all over the field. Wherever I can be to help the team, I’ll try and go and do it,” Harris said. “Whatever they call, wherever we line up, I’ll try and go out there and execute it and try and do it to the best of my ability. Whatever I can do to help.”
Of course, New England also like wide receivers who can contribute on special teams, and while Harris doesn’t have a lot of returning experience at the NFL level (three punt returns and six kick returns in three seasons in the NFL), he’s taken the words of Patriots’ personnel guru Nick Caserio to heart: The more you can do, the more you can do for us.
“I take it seriously, just as I take offense seriously,” he said of his work this spring in the return game. “So I try and maximize my ability and go out there and perform the best that I can.”
Ultimately, Harris is cognizant of the fact that for him, this is a process, especially considering the fact that he's hitting the reset button on his career. Stacking success throughout the spring and building on that when training camp comes around next month will be the surest way to distinguish himself when it comes to winning the trust of Brady.
“I don’t really look too far down the road,” he said. “I’m new, and I’m just trying to help the team win in any way I can.”