Patriots

NFL insider believes N’Keal Harry is a player who ‘should be traded’ this offseason

"When N'Keal Harry was coming out of ASU, he was a highly sought-after player."

N'Keal Harry leaps up to make a catch. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

February 20, 2022

Patriots wide receiver N’Keal Harry is coming off a season in which he played just 12 games and had a career-low 22 targets and zero touchdowns.

The former first-round pick – who’s entering his fourth season and is in the final year of his rookie deal – has underachieved so far in his professional career. Despite Harry’s struggles, NFL.com’s Adam Rank isn’t ready to give up on Harry quite yet.

“I remain enamored with his potential,” Rank said.

Rank believes a team in need of receiving help such as the Bears should be willing to give up a day-three pick in return for Harry. Harry would get a fresh start, the Patriots would move on, and Chicago would bolster its depth, so everyone would benefit in Rank’s eyes.

Harry requested a trade before the start of last season, but he backtracked and said he would be “very OK” staying with the Patriots. Head coach Bill Belichick vouched for him, but Harry barely had any role this season.

At 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, with legitimate athleticism, Harry fits the bill of an elite receiver on paper. In reality, he hasn’t lived up to the hype since the Patriots took him out of Arizona State in 2019.

Harry is still only 24, though, and Rank thinks it would be wise for teams that don’t want to spend big but need a receiver to inquire about a player once on the radar of many teams.

“A lot of teams, what they do is they go back to their original scouting,” Rank said. “When N’Keal Harry was coming out of ASU, he was a highly sought-after player.”