Why The 49ers Should Trade For Patriots WR N'Keal Harry

Brotherhood.

Not every situation works out for each rookie when they are selected in the NFL Draft and that appears to be the case for wide-receiver N'Keal Harry, who has official requested a trade today via his agent.

Harry was once regarded as the best WR prospect coming out of the loaded 2019 class that featured receivers like AJ Brown, Deebo Samuel, DK Metcalf, and Terry McLaurin, just to name a few. Harry wound up being the 2nd WR taken in the first round behind Hollywood Brown.

For me personally, I struggled with who would hold the crown on my WR rankings in 2019 because that class was so deep with talent. Deebo Samuel led my group for a good portion of the year but N'Keal overtook Deebo for #1 in my final ranking.

N'Keal's combination of size, speed, and ability was too much to pass up.

N'Keal wowed people with his skillset while playing at Arizona State University.

Over his three year career at ASU, Harry put up 2,889 receiving yards on 213 receptions, scoring 22 TDs. He also added another 3 TDs on the ground and one touchdown as a kick returner. He did all this with mediocre play at quarterback. He showcased a skillset that appeared to perfectly translate to todays NFL game.

He had the desirable size that NFL front offices look for in a WR1 at 6'4" 225 lbs.

On tape, N'Keal Harry looked like a bonafide WR1. Cleary that hasn't been the case, but at 23 years old, I think there is plenty of potential left in this dynamic WR and you can pinpoint a lot of issue to the mental aspect of things which is a positive, because it has nothing to do with his natural ability. 

The situation seemingly was never great for Harry once he landed in Foxborough with the Patriots.

People tend to forget the context of certain situations and N'Keal found himself on the wrong side of that context. N'Keal never got the oppertunity to make a good first impression on the fan base because he was hurt three plays into his NFL debut in preseason.

This would eventually land the rookie wide-out on the injured reserve list to start his rookie year, missing training camp and the Preseason. That can be a very lonely place for a players mind, especially a rookie with the expectations of a 1st round pick in a loaded class.

N'Keal didn't make his regular season debut until October 11th but the rookie fell admittedly behind. He put up minimal production to round out his rookie season while the other rookie wide receivers took over the league and made waves, even broke records. 

“I didn’t feel like I was playing catchup mentally as much, but definitely when I got out on the field it was just kind of hard to get in that groove because everybody else kind of got all of that out at the beginning of the season,” Harry said. “So for me, it was just a little bit harder to get going but that’s still no excuse.”

I see a player who got off on the wrong foot in an organization that demands a lof of it's players. Something that could be a major culture shock coming from ASU.

After his rookie campaign, things didn't get much better as a sophomore. Things weren't right with Harry mentally and Cam Newton even went on a podcast to speak to how N'Keal has been "battered" by the "Patriot Way".

N'Keals familiarity with players on this team combined with a coast change, it could truly be a reawakening for the promising WR where he can start over.

Mental health has huge implications on these players performance and we could see a player suffering on the field because he is still suffering off of it. The 49ers have a stable locker room culture that can have a dramatic affect on a player who is struggling mentally, from all accounts.

I truly believe this team could unlock N'Keal Harry's potential.

The 49ers currently have Richie James and a cast of relatively unknown receivers mixed with veterans on the roster competing for the snaps at WR3.

This would translate to being a low pressure situation for Harry with Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel locking down the top two roles and would allow N'Keal to find his footing and not feel rushed to perform. Adding Harry to the 49ers WR room would be a low-risk, high-reward proposition that I feel the 49ers should pursue. He can come in and compete for the 6th/7th WR spot, depending on how many WRs the 49ers carry.

The 49ers would also get two more years of a rookie cost controlled contract from N'Keal with an available 5th-year option, if he does take off with the team. It makes sense from a roster construction standpoint, a financial standpoint, and could be had at an extreme value.

If Harry hits, Kyle and John look like geniuses and if he doesn't pan out, they move on without giving up much of anything and get patted on the back for taking a calculated risk.

Get N'Keal Harry on the 49ers before the start of training camp.