N’Keal Harry has no one to blame but himself

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When the New England Patriots selected N’Keal Harry with the 32nd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Pats fans were optimistic the powerful Arizona State receiver would be able to step in and help. to replace Rob Gronkowski in the New England offense.

Two seasons later, it can be said that it was wishful thinking. After missing most of his rookie season with injury and struggling to adjust when he was on the pitch, things were looking up for Harry as he approached his second season. He had developed a solid relationship with new quarterback Cam Newton and seemed to finally find his place with an eight-strike, 72-yard performance against the Seattle Seahawks.

But that was pretty much the highlight of Harry’s season, but also his time in New England so far. We’ve seen fleeting moments of his potential, but there’s no indication he’s close to having a breakout season. With the Pats resupplying offensively this offseason, many are wondering whether or not Harry will get a spot on this roster in Week 1.

Those chances certainly took a hit after Harry’s agent said Harry had officially requested a trade out of New England. Just two seasons after being a beacon of hope in a weak broad receiver core, Harry has come to personify this group of weak receivers to a T. Now his time in New England seems to be drawing to a close, and it is maybe better for both parties involved.

Is it fair that Patriots fans blame N’Keal Harry for his struggles?

Despite Harry’s short tenure, his struggles appear to continue a trend of New England’s inability to find production out of the wide receiver position in the draft. It’s fair to wonder if Harry really had a shot at succeeding in the Patriots offense, or if he just couldn’t keep up and do what was expected of him when he was on the pitch.

From Harry’s perspective, he seems to think he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to be successful. He has only seen 86 targets in two seasons and was pretty quickly overtaken in the wide receiver rotation by Jakobi Meyers and Damiere Byrd last season.

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Yet despite his qualms, Harry had a pretty decent opportunity to establish himself last season. He played 58 percent of offensive snaps last season despite missing two games, so he had the chance to make his mark.

The problem with Harry has always been his inability to open up. In his agent’s statement, he claimed Harry was “a dominant threat in the field” and was “virtually unstoppable” during his time at university. Those two sentences couldn’t be further from the truth during his time in the NFL.

Harry’s mix of unique size and speed made him attractive to the Patriots, and rightly so. But Harry only generated an average of 2.9 meters of separation on his routes last season, which means he struggles to get rid of defenders most of the time, allowing them to stay on him and to play with the ball.

Even if Harry didn’t open up to college, he could use his size to his advantage to force the cornerbacks into submission. But again, that hasn’t been the case in the NFL, as Harry has only managed to achieve 55.6% of his goals so far in his career, which isn’t going to cut him for one. NFL caliber wide receiver.

The opposing teams didn’t have such a hard time keeping Harry. They can stick a bigger wedge on him and he’s basically neutralized from there. He can’t outrun or jump opposing defenders like he could in college, and that’s sometimes how it works in the NFL.

There’s nothing we’ve seen of Harry to suggest it’s worth hanging onto if he’s going to ask for a trade. Having a disgruntled player around the team creates an unwanted distraction, and the Patriots already have one with Stephon Gilmore.

The problem now is that the Patriots’ limited influence in this situation simply wore off when Harry made public his desire to leave. Rumor had it that they were buying Harry a third or fourth round pick during the draft, and if they couldn’t find anything then, they’re unlikely to get much return for him now.

Realistically, New England will be looking for a sixth or seventh round pick at this point for Harry, which is a far cry from the first round they seem to have burned him just two years ago.

Maybe a team like the Washington football team, which were supposed to be interested in him earlier this offseason, take a leaflet about him and associate him with their dangerous new duo of Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel, but the market for Harry probably won’t be too deep.

Harry’s public announcement through his agent showed the young receiver is convinced he has what it takes to be successful in the NFL and that the New England Patriots are not giving him a fair chance to succeed. . But they have; he just hasn’t been able to make the most of it.

Despite Harry’s complaints to the press, he has no one to blame but himself for the situation he finds himself in, and the Patriots should respect his position and move away from him.

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