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N'Keal Harry Trade Rumors: WFT Among NFL Teams Interested in Patriots WR
March 24, 2021
The Washington Football Team is reportedly "monitoring" whether New England Patriots wide receiver N'Keal Harry becomes available for trade.
ESPN's John Keim reported Wednesday at least three other teams could be interested in Harry, with the Pats seeking at least a fourth-round draft pick in return.
The 23-year-old Arizona State product hasn't made the type of impact the Patriots expected when they selected him in the first round of the 2019 draft.
He's coming off a 2020 campaign in which he recorded only 33 catches for 309 yards and two touchdowns across 14 appearances. He tallied just 12 receptions in seven games as a rookie after missing the season's first two months because of an ankle injury.
New England head coach Bill Belichick was asked about Harry's progress, or lack thereof, in October and answered in a general sense, saying, "we all need to work on fundamentals, awareness and anticipation and things like that."
"So, that's N'Keal. That's everybody," Belichick told reporters. "He's way ahead of where he was last year because he's been on the field and he's been practicing. You know, there was a point and time where we strung together a lot of quality reps and we need to do that again."
The Toronto native explained in early December he still believed in his ability to make an impact.
"As far as my confidence, I don't know what everybody else feels like—me, I've been getting more confident each week," Harry said. "I know the amount of work I've been putting in. My confidence has been getting better week-by-week. There's been nothing wrong with my confidence."
The physical tools are there. He's a 6'4'', 225-pound receiver with 4.5 speed, so he should be a matchup nightmare. He hasn't taken that leap quite yet, however, and Belichick's comments make it sound like he's still working on the finer points of the position.
If the Patriots are ready to move on, he'd represent an intriguing buy-low candidate as a player who seemingly still has some untapped potential heading into his third pro season.
Harry would compete for a complementary role behind Terry McLaurin and free-agent addition Curtis Samuel if he lands with Washington via trade.