Before taking N'Keal Harry with the 32nd and final pick of the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots hadn't used a first-round selection on a wide receiver since 1996. Given the team's sterling track record of player evaluation, then, it should come as no surprise that one prominent NFL analyst believes Harry is destined for greatness.
NFL Network's David Carr, the No. 1 pick of the 2002 NFL Draft and a five-year starter at quarterback for the Houston Texans, recently compared Tom Brady's newest target to future Hall-of-Famer Larry Fitzgerald.
“When you watch the tape on this guy when he was at Arizona State, he’s an incredible wide receiver,” Carr said of Harry on NFL Total Access, as transcribed by Adam London of NESN. “I looked at it and said ‘That’s Larry Fitzgerald all over again.’ Then he goes and runs a 4.5 (40-yard dash), so he ran even faster than Larry did when he came out of college. So it’s all there. You can see why Belichick went out there and grabbed him.”
The comparison certainly makes sense from a physical perspective. Harry measured at 6-foot-2, 228 pounds at the NFL Combine in February, roughly the same size as the Arizona Cardinals superstar. He also put up an impressive 27 reps on the bench press, evidence of the functional strength he routinely showed off catching contested throws and blocking in the run game at Arizona State – just like Fitzgerald has throughout his 15-year NFL career to date.
Harry, it goes without saying, probably won't be producing like Fitzgerald as a rookie. But given his elite physical tools and the Patriots' history of developing wide receivers, it seems only a matter of time until he becomes a major impact player for New England.
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