With the final pick in the first-round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots welcomed N'Keal Harry to the team. After only three-years, the Patriots have walked away from the N'Keal Harry experiment.
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, it was reported New England agreed to terms with the Bears, sending their former first-round pick to Chicago in exchange for a 2024 seventh-round pick.
On the surface, trading a [former] first-round pick for a future 7th-rounder seems counterintuitive. However, this was not only a win for the Bears, but a trade the Patriots can feel good about as well.
While Harry does in fact have the potential to be a legitimate threat in the NFL, things simply weren't working out in New England. Instead of committing to a partnership that continued to trend south, the Patriots pressed the reset button and moved on.
Even better for New England, the team had reportedly been ready to waive Harry. Instead, the Pats walk away with a draft pick, humming the old tune, “Anything is better than nothing”.
Why should the team in Foxborough feel good about swapping their former first-rounder for a future seventh? Let's talk about it.
Reasons Patriots should walk away happy after N'Keal Harry swap
2. A relationship trending south
The relationship of Harry and the Patriots was a rocky one from the start, and has only progressively gotten worse. A large part of this was N'Keal's lack of production under former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, allowing Harry to log just 414 receiving yards after two-seasons.
Harry was predominantly used as a shorter option during this timeframe. In his rookie year, the former Arizona State wideout recorded an average depth yards per catch of 5.3. The following year, while Harry upped his average depth yards per reception, his depth yards per targets in general saw a decrease of 1.3 yards.
As a result, Harry requested a trade from New England after year-two.
Afterwards, coach Belichick and Harry spoke, allowing the two to get back in sync. At the end of it all, the former Patriots' receiver even went as far as stating he's “very ok” with being in New England.
Belichick's reassurance of Harry wasn't just words. In his third-season, N'Keal saw his role with the team change drastically. Instead of being held back as a shorter target, Harry witnessed his average depth yards per target skyrocket to a monstrous 14.9 – 5.6 higher than his former career-high.
Unfortunately, while his role was expanded, his production stayed miniscule. In 326 snaps, Harry posted 184 receiving yards, with only 12 receptions. During the off-season, as it was the year prior, Harry once again expressed his interest in restarting elsewhere.
In the month of April, Harry's agent stated the two-sides have began exploring trading options. These talks were described as “positive dialogue”, per his agent, taking place sometime after Harry hadn't showed up to the Patriots' off-season program.
Agent for N’Keal Harry says via text Harry, though away from the start of team workouts, “understands what’s at stake this season and is doing his part to make sure he will be ready!” Also says he’s had “positive dialogue with the #Patriots about exploring trade possibilities.” https://t.co/atkXU9vsVP
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 22, 2022
While both sides remained positive in a continuous attempt to progress the former first-round pick, things simply never worked out. Perhaps it was the scheme, or even a lack of connection between N'Keal and his Patriot teammates or staff. Either way, the two-sides get a fresh start here, instead of working tirelessly to fix something a bad pairing.
The Patriots no longer have to commit to Harry, and N'Keal now finds himself in a better position. Everyone wins.
1. New England can focus on what they have now, instead of a future with Harry
As touched on above, New England no longer has a commitment with their former first-round pick.
There's no longer a need for the Patriots to ignore what they have today, to focus on developing Harry for the future. Between the additions of DeVante Parker and Tyquan Thornton, there's no reason to push what New England wanted of the Arizona State wideout. Parker, 6'3 and 219lbs, provides the big body for shorter distance throws. While Parker doesn't possess the same strength has Harry, his 4.46 40-time is far superior to the 4.54, 4.59 unofficial times N'Keal ran at his combine.
Parker alone can replicate what New England wanted of Harry, but the real story is the latter of the two abovementioned players; Tyquan Thornton.
With Harry shipped elsewhere, the Patriots can focus on developing their second-round draft pick from the NFL's most recent draft. Thornton is far from the same type of player Harry is – The complete opposite, in fact – but prioritizing his development is key. At the combine, Thornton posted an unreal 4.28 official 40-time. His unofficial was 4.21; A number that would've took the record for fastest 40-time at an NFL combine.
The Pats attempted to use Harry in a deep threat role, but it didn't work out. Thornton, while not the player Harry is, is exactly what New England tried to turn their '19 draft pick into.
Even had New England kept Harry, he would've been the odd man out. The Patriots traded for DeVonte Parker to replicate Harry's strength, and drafted Tyquan Thornton to be who they tried to make their first-round pick turn into last year.
All of this said, the potential of the former Sun Devil is quite high. Even if the experiment didn't work out in New England, it by no means indicates it can't work elsewhere. For the Bears, they get a young, motivated, highly skilled wideout. For the Patriots, they get to move on from a relationship trending downward, where Harry would've been the odd man out regardless.
A true win-win trade.
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