FOXBOROUGH — A Patriots wide receiver taken in the first-round — the first-ever under Bill Belichick — starts his career with two below-average seasons.
During the offseason before his third season, the agent for the player publicly requests a trade and basically questions how the coaching staff of the six-time Super Bowl champions has handled his client.
Sounds like a looming trainwreck.
Instead, N'Keal Harry has been one of the early success stories of Patriots training camp. After a bit of a slow start, Harry has been on fire over the last week. Every day Harry seems to get a little bit better, and flashes a big play.
"I feel good, I feel more agile, I feel faster, so it’s all coming together at this point," Harry said Sunday.
What's going on? What's the cause of this turnaround? Is it going to last? Where does he fit? Is it just artificial hype so the Patriots can get more in a trade? Answering those and other questions about the Harry Hype ...
What's been happening on the field?
Harry has been very productive. He's been at his best in the one-on-one battles against Patriots cornerbacks, and has done well in basically all practice situations. I think I have him for one drop. He's been good all-around. And, now, he's starting to stack success on a daily basis, which could not be said earlier in his career.
"I know what was reported, and all that stuff, but I just know N’Keal is a guy that I’ve grown to really admire and love," said receiver coach Mick Lombardi. "He’s a player on our team and in our room and I think really highly of N’Keal for how he comes in here and works. I have a great relationship with N’Keal. We are business first. He comes in here and works extremely hard, and I appreciate that. He’s very hard working. You know what? I’m going to come and coach him as hard as I can every day and he’s going to come out here and work hard every day. That’s really all I can ask of him. That’s what he asks of me. He expects me to coach him hard. He’s going to work hard because I coach him hard, and we expect a lot out of him.”
Why all of a sudden?
This has not happened all of a sudden. Despite the noise, Harry showed some of these traits in offseason practices.
3. It's become almost an annual tradition around here to dump on N'Keal Harry and the criticisms have been warranted. But just wanted to point out that some of the reports from last week, that Harry struggled in practice and hasn't shown much ... I disagree. Look, he's not a burner down the field or anything, but Harry did open my eyes with some explosion he showed after the catch. He's another guy to watch this week, not that I'm expecting a big leap or anything.
This is what should be happening. Harry had some tough circumstances to fight through his first two seasons. I'm sure the team wanted him to fight through them a little better, but it is what it is. This is why we were so disappointed that Harry requested a trade:
Look, we all understood that his rookie year did not go well. The injury put him behind, Tom Brady wasn't enamored with him and doesn't love rookies under the best of circumstances. Last season brought a QB change, it was a Covid year, and there wasn't a whole lot of talent on the roster in general, so even more was asked of Harry, unfairly.
But this season? Harry had his first real offseason in his NFL career, and after a dozen practices ... he asks out? What the heck is that?
Is he mad the Patriots went out and signed two receivers? They are running a football team and trying to win games. Harry, the first receiver Bill Belichick drafted in the first round, had not given them any indication they could rely on him, so they signed Nelson Agholor to a big deal, and Kendrick Bourne to a lesser deal. The rest of his competition was Jakobi Meyers, Tre Nixon and Isaiah Zuber on the outside. The Patriots also signed two tight ends, which would cut into receiver playing time. But neither Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry have proven themselves as NFL stars yet. Literally anything could happen with the direction of the Patriots' offense this season.
Go fight for your job, man. Realize the first two years weren't great, but this year was a new opportunity to start fresh with Cam Newton and/or Mac Jones, and put the first two years behind you.
Has he really been this good, or are you guys just doing the Patriots' bidding and helping drive up his trade value?
I would never, ever do that. I don't know any reporter who would — what do we care what the Patriots desire?
Plus, and this is the bottom line: if you think media reports are going to boost Harry's trade value around the league, that is one horrible general manager. Harry's trade value is nothing until he shows different ON FILM in the preseason and joint practices. Media reports mean nothing.
Well ... is he going to be better in the preseason and joint practices?
Impossible to say. What we do know is Harry is playing with more confidence, and he's playing faster, which usually translates to more success. He's never been a guy who has created good separation, even in college. His potential special skills on the NFL level reside in his contested catch ability, and run after the catch. There's no reason why that can't continue, if he has a QB that gets him the ball on time and with accuracy (cough, Cam). But the proof is in the pudding.
Aren't you guys just overrating him?
Definitely possible.
Harry has been better than his previous two years. Not exactly a high bar to jump over. He is doing it, against a secondary that has had a tough camp without Stephon Gilmore on the field.
To be honest, we're judging him on the Harry Curve. He's been than he has been, but he's not close to Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne. He's close with Jakobi Meyers, which was NOT the case a year ago. So there's your progress.
Where's his fit in this offense?
He still looks to be a fit at X, which means he's behind Agholor. Harry likely needs the boundary as a weapon with his body, but I would love to see the Patriots use Harry as a big slot a la Anquan Boldin with the Ravens. It would be easier to get open for him in zone soft spots, and he could take the beating from linebackers and safeties. Harry is never going to be a burner with great foot skills. Those guys live on the outside. Plus, I don't see another great slot option on this roster. Agholor doesn't seem to be a natural there, and Meyers is really small. Bourne is fine but has been better on the outside.
So, Bed-ahd, you're saying I should pick him in my fantasy draft. I'm coming after you if you're wrong.
Absolutely not. I am not advocating for that until I know who the QB is. Even then ... I think I'd wait for a waiver pickup and see if the Patriots have both Hunter Henry (MRI on shoulder coming) and Jonnu Smith available. If the Patriots go more three-wide, maybe.
Is this the best we're going to get out of Harry?
No, I don't think so. I think his ceiling is much higher, but to get there Harry is going to have to get into better shape. He's fine right now, but he can be latter Anquan Boldin if he has that sort of vet discipline. Harry still looks a little soft in the body. He could be a rock if he wanted to.
Could he still be traded?
Absolutely. There is the definite possibility that Belichick secretly hopes Harry looks great in the preseason so he can ship him out, possibly for a slot. After the public trade request, and the fact that Harry still has yet to report in top shape for three years ... it might still be time to move on. Kristian Wilkerson might be better in the long run.
What's the final word?
We'll leave it to the esteemed Matthew Slater:
"Well, you know, I tell you this, N'Keal is a great kid, and I'm sure people have expectations of all of us as players and they think there's certain things that we should and shouldn't be doing. I don't know. But for me, I've always enjoyed working with N'Keal. And the one thing that has not changed since he got here is his determination. You know, he's not going to quit. He's going to keep working hard no matter the outcome. He's just going to keep his head down, keep grinding, keep trying to get better. And that's a great formula for anyone in this league to have success. So I'm proud of the resolve that he continues to show, just keeping his head down, continuing to work, continuing to try to get better. And that's all you can ask of young players - of any of us, honestly. I want to see him be successful, just like I want the rest of the guys on this team to be successful. I'm glad that he's staying to his grind and trying to ignore the noise and just get better."