Wide receiver N’Keal Harry is quite familiar to the Red Sea. And now apparantly wants a new change of scenery. The former Chandler High School and Arizona State Sun Devil caught the attention of some football fans Tuesday. As his agent made a statement where he announces Harry wants a trade from the New England Patriots.
Statement from #Patriots WR N’Keal Harry’s agent Jamal Tooson, who has formally requested a trade for the 2019 first-round pick. pic.twitter.com/3xdJbbar28
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 6, 2021
Through two seasons, Harry has 45 catches on 81 targets with 414 yards receiving. Along with only four career receiving touchdowns, his time with New England has been less than desirable.
Assuming a trade does happen, is sending him back to the west coast the best chance for Harry to begin a career revival? The Cardinals seem content with their receivers at first glance, but what of the rest of Arizona’s NFC West neighbors? All four teams will be profiled to investigate Harry’s probability of coming to each one.
(NOTE: All teams are listed in order based on their 2020 records in the NFC West)
Seattle Seahawks
The defending NFC West champions already have a receiver corps that just got potentially bolstered with Western Michigan rookie wideout D’Wayne Eskridge. D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett clearly aren’t going anywhere after both had 1,000+ receiving yards in 2020.
But besides those two, it’s mostly running backs and tight ends who tried to follow Metcalf and Lockett’s example.
There didn’t seem to be a definite number three and four wide receivers for Seattle and Pete Carroll can only rely on Chris Carson for so long.
There was a rotating mix of tight ends to help balance the output of Metcalf and Lockett, but Seattle’s other wideouts need to step up. Russell Wilson can’t constantly be dependent on Metcalf and Lockett.
The Seahawks can start building up their receiving corps further with Harry, it’s worth mentioning he and Metcalf had similar results during the 2019 Combine.
Take that along with Harry’s physical build and abilities, Harry could flesh himself out further with a team that needs more from its other wideouts.
Los Angeles Rams
There’s not much of a reason for the L.A. Rams to go after Harry right now. remain reliable locks. Together with the one-two punch of Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett at tight end, new Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is set for success.
Kupp and Woods came oh-so-close to topping 1,000+ receiving yards last season. Now with Matthew Stafford at quarterback, breaking the mark in 2021 is certainly possible.
Behind them, Van Jefferson looks to continue in a better supporting role after 220 yards and a touchdown last season. Plus, veteran DeSean Jackson and two promising rookies in Ben Skowronek and Tutu Atwell are on the squad at the moment.
Mix all those targets, and the L.A. Rams have a good receiver corps to work with. So, unless the rookies get cut, there’s little chance of seeing Hollywood Harry (It does roll off the tongue nicely though).
Arizona Cardinals
This is an option that makes for great P.R. material due to the nostalgia factor of N’Keal Harry returning to the desert. After all, Harry’s high school days were spent at Chandler, the same high school that produced Saints defensive end and six-time Pro Bowler Cameron Jordan.
Additionally, N’Keal Harry’s time at Arizona State was full of quality performances, with back-to-back 1,000+ receiving yard seasons from 2017-2018.
Harry going to the Cardinals would also reunite him with current Arizona running back Eno Benjamin, who has yet to see any meaningful playing time.
Position-wise; DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green, Christian Kirk, Rondale Moore and — assuming he returns — Larry Fitzgerald seem to be a corps that doesn’t need anyone else.
There may be wiggle room for Harry here, but that’s taking in the possibility Fitzgerald will hang up his cleats for good. After all, Fitzgerald has been notoriously mum on potentially returning these past few offseasons.
In all likelihood, coach Kliff Kingsbury may be satisfied with the position as it is, so Harry’s probably not going home.
San Francisco 49ers
For recent college graduates, one major piece of advice in job hunting is making solid business contacts. N’Keal Harry certainly has someone in the Bay to vouch for him, budding Niners star Brandon Aiyuk. Both were teammates at Arizona State, but it is Aiyuk who has had evident success in the league.
Aiyuk and Harry only spent the 2018 college season with each other as the latter had most of the spotlight. But once Aiyuk became the lead, he flourished for nearly 1,200 yards receiving and eight touchdowns at ASU.
Now, the tides have turned as Aiyuk finished with a team-high 748 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns for San Francisco. Plus, fellow wideout Kendrick Bourne and tight end George Kittle weren’t too far behind in productivity. Kittle has usually been the go-to target when healthy. Even though he only played half of 2020, he still came in third on the Niners with 634 receiving yards.
Deebo Samuel and Richie James left some things to be desired last year but adding Harry could help try to reinforce the depth. Ultimately, this is the San Francisco front office’s decision to make.
It could be a matter of having the right quarterback for these wideouts, and last year showed Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard are no longer the answer. Jimmy Garappolo is supposed to be the main quarterback, but he’s been injured longer than he’s been healthy. Not to mention it’s far too early to guess rookie Trey Lance’s odds of starting.
So, this may be a case of the Niners believing in Jimmy Garappolo to get the current receivers back to form. If that is the reason, they may be content to keep the same men as last season.
Conclusion
If there’s an NFC West team that could take a chance on N’Keal Harry, it may just be Seattle. And that’s in light of Pete Carroll being on the record of saying he wants to run the ball more. But when the next best targets behind Metcalf and Lockett have been mostly running backs and no clear number one tight end, something needs to change.
If nothing else, Harry is added depth which is something Seattle needs regardless. But like with anything else, Harry to the west coast is not a guarantee. The best fans can do for now is wait.
Featured Image courtesy of Matt Stone/MediaNewsGroup/Boston Herald
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