Harry could be Pats X-factor
Need big sophomore season from highly-touted receiver
Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu and pray for a coup. That about sums up the Patriots wide receiver position in 2020.
Edelman’s a given. Sanu is an experienced veteran who should contribute if healthy.
And who might be that potential coup from the rest? N’Keal Harry.
The Patriots’ first-round pick has a boatload of talent, but also has a huge question mark next to his name thanks to a rookie campaign that fizzled. Even with that, expectations have ramped up on the second-year player mostly out of necessity and wishful thinking.
The Patriots are incredibly thin at the position, and that narrative wasn’t helped by having Edelman as a limited participant in Tuesday’s padded practice.
Assuming all’s well with Edelman, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels still needs someone to step up, and the prevalent view has Harry improving in Year 2 and providing Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham or whoever a legitimate threat on the outside.
Last year couldn’t have gone much worse, as Harry didn’t jump out of the gate with the best of circumstances, injuring an ankle and winding up on injured reserve.
That’s a tough spot for any rookie, missing the first half of the season, then being thrown into the fire with a demanding quarterback at the controls.
When he finally did play, there were only flashes of his talent. Entering 2020 with a new quarterback, a new outlook, and a trimmer physique, Harry has a chance to live up to expectations.
He worked hard in the offseason to improve his footwork, and getting off the line. That’s been a trouble spot throughout his football career. His inability to make that initial move has made it much tougher for him to beat man coverage.
Along with moving his feet more effectively, Harry also slimmed down, which has been noticeable just watching him at practice. He’s hoping the combination allows him to have a much better second season in the NFL.
“I went into this offseason just attacking and just trying to improve all facets of my game,” Harry said during a Zoom call following Tuesday’s padded practice. “(Footwork) was one of them that I thought I had to improve on. That was one I focused on a lot.”
Specifically with regard to the weight loss, it’s not that his 6-foot-4, 225 pound frame was soft or packing too much weight. If anything, he just bulked down a bit from his muscular frame. To that end, Harry said he lifted weights less and improved his eating habits.
“I just felt like I was a little bit big,” Harry explained. “I just felt like slimming down a little bit and being a little more thin would help me getting off the top of my routes, getting in and out of my breaks and my releases.”
Last season, Harry caught just 12 passes for 105 yards with two touchdowns in the seven games he played. There were a couple of impressive plays in the mix, but he just never found a consistent role in the Tom Brady-led passing attack.
Obviously, he’s hoping all the work he did during the offseason pays off and he can be an asset to any quarterback.
Before arriving at camp, Harry spent time with both Newton (out in California) and Stidham (locally) to try and get a jump and perhaps start building on the relationship.
“It helped a lot. Just getting to go out there and throw with your quarterbacks, especially during the offseason, trying to build chemistry always helps a lot,” he said. “It also helped our off the field relationship. I knew Stidham and Hoyer more than I knew Cam. So I got to meet Cam a little bit this offseason and get to know him as a person as well.”
His review of Newton had a familiar ring to it. All of the descriptions used by Harry were similar to ones expressed by other Patriots who have been asked about the quarterback: “hard worker, great player, brings a lot of energy.”
During practice Tuesday, Harry and Newton hooked up a number of times over the middle, and at the sideline during the 11-on-11 sessions. He seemed to be getting along just fine with Superman.
Harry’s best grab, however, came on a sideline pass from Brian Hoyer during the early drills.
“Every time we take the field, the quarterbacks are making sure to do everything they can to throw a good ball, get good drops, and work on their fundamentals,” said Harry. “It’s the same for me, no matter what quarterback is out there. I have to focus on working on myself and making sure I’m ready myself to make the catch.”
What will ultimately help Harry is knowing and understanding the offense, beating press converge, playing consistently and staying healthy. Whether Harry is able to conquer the list remains to be seen.
“There’s a lot of things about this offense that would be hard to pick up at first, a lot of little details that a lot of guys don’t have to pay attention to in college,” said Harry. “This second year has helped me a lot. The offseason, just getting to study some things and knowing the offense a lot more. So I came back, felt very comfortable with it, and it helped me a lot being a second-year guy.”
Time will tell.