Patriots’ choice of N’Keal Harry was as surprising as it was satisfying
Harry comes across as a humble, hard-working person, but one who is relentless on the field.
Contrary to conventional wisdom and revised history, the Patriots have hit the wide receiver jackpot in the first round before.
In 1996, the controversial choice of Ohio State’s Terry Glenn with the No. 7 overall pick turned out to be a catalyst for a run to the Super Bowl that season. His stardom was fleeting because his reliability was lacking, but the Patriots have never had a receiver more graceful than No. 88 save for perhaps a fully engaged Randy Moss. I’ll never lament this pick.
In 1977, the Patriots used the 25th pick on Tennessee’s Stanley Morgan, a roadrunner who had more rushing yards than receiving yards in his college career. He became one of the premier deep threats in NFL history, catching 534 passes for 10,352 yards — that’s 19.4 yards per catch — and scoring 67 touchdowns in 13 years as a Patriot. Try to find a more underrated receiver in NFL lore. You won’t.
There have been others who really could play. Darryl Stingley was part of a mega-loaded 1973 draft class that also yielded John Hannah and Sam Cunningham. Irving Fryar was the No. 1 overall pick in 1984, and while his time here was complicated, his talent was never in doubt. Hart Lee Dykes, their No. 1 in 1989, had a fine rookie season before injuries and immaturity abbreviated his career.
All right, so it’s been a while, and the caveat here is obvious: The Patriots in the Bill Belichick era, which means this entire century so far, have never chosen a receiver in the first round.
Actually, better make that “had never.’’ Because with the final pick in Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft, in his 20th year of running the Patriots’ draft board, Belichick went against the grain of his own history and made a selection that in the moment was as satisfying as it was surprising.
With the 32d selection — they sure seem to pick from that spot a lot, don’t they? — the Patriots chose N’Keal Harry, a 6-foot-2-inch, 228-pound receiver from Arizona State.
A receiver! That was a surprise for sure. I was among those expecting them to trade the selection after we’d waited three-plus hours for their turn to come around. Instead, based on Harry’s highlight reel and the comments of respected analysts (my go-to, ESPN’s Louis Riddick, loved the fit), it was worth waiting up for.
Harry comes across as a humble, hard-working person, but one who is relentless on the field. As a Sun Devil, he developed a reputation as an acrobatic receiver with good hands who will win contested catches.
He’s not a Morganesque burner (4.52 40-yard dash at the Combine), but he’s a tireless competitor with slick moves who will fight for every yard. He sounds to me like a bigger version of what Malcolm Mitchell was for a season before injuries turned him into . . . well, this generation’s Dykes.
Don’t you love the pick? I love the pick. Love it for a lot of reasons. Most obviously, the Patriots have an obvious need for an infusion of youth and talent at receiver. They need someone like Harry. Slot receiver Julian Edelman will be 33 next month, and every other receiver on the roster is either limited in skill or has a question mark attached.
Harry’s reputation suggests he’ll do everything in his power to earn Tom Brady’s trust, just as Mitchell, a Super Bowl hero in his only healthy season, did three seasons ago. Brady gets a high-end prospect with immediate upside at his disposal.
I also get a kick out of the dead narrative that Belichick won’t draft receivers in the first round. Now let’s see whether Harry can make the narrative that Belichick can’t draft receivers, period, also goes away for good.
The learning curve surely is steep, and Brady is a demanding general. The Patriots did get it right with quintessential Patriot Deion Branch in the second round in 2002, and Edelman and David Givens were both seventh-round finds. But they were due to take a receiver in the early rounds of the draft, and they are overdue to get it right.
The high degree of difficulty in mastering the Patriots offense and earning Brady’s faith has been too much for some prospects to overcome through the years. Taylor Price, Bethel Johnson, Brandon Tate, Chad Jackson, and Aaron Dobson were all chosen either in the second or third round by Belichick. They totaled 123 catches with the Patriots.
To make it as a Patriots receiver, you have to want it. You have to work to learn the playbook, put in the time to earn the quarterback’s trust, and fight for the football when it comes your way.
Harry has been a Patriot for just a few hours, but we already know he’s willing to do the latter, and he sure sounds like someone willing to do everything else necessary to succeed.
Belichick took a receiver in the first round? He sure did. Given N’Keal Harry’s promise and reputation, maybe we should have even seen it coming, like a perfectly placed Brady throw to a welcome new target.
