One thing we know about the New England Patriots (you know, other than the fact that they have been the best franchise in the NFL for two decades) is that they run a lot of short and intermediate routes on offense.
That's why receivers like Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan have had so much success with the Patriots, as Tom Brady doesn't take too much time on drop backs and likes to get the ball out quick.
Well, for the first time in 23 years, New England used a first-round pick on a wideout in April, taking Arizona State's N'Keal Harry with the 32nd overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, and apparently, Harry is great at running intermediate routes.
Pro Football Focus has Harry graded as the best receiver in the 2019 class on intermediate targets, which is likely to make Brady happy:
Patriots WR N'Keal Harry was the draft class' highest-graded receiver on intermediate targets last season pic.twitter.com/7dnLINRhXP
— PFF (@PFF) May 6, 2019
Knowing how great the Pats' scouting is, it's entirely possible—if not probable—that Bill Belichick and Co. knew all of this going into the first round, which is why they elected to roll with Harry with their top draft choice.
Harry is coming off of a terrific junior campaign in which he hauled in 73 receptions for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns, marking his second straight 1,000-yard season. In 2017, he caught 82 passes for 1,142 yards and eight scores.
The Patriots won 11 games and captured their 10th straight AFC East division title this past season and then went on to win their sixth Super Bowl championship, defeating the Los Angeles Rams.
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