The Chicago Bears trade for a new potential weapon on offense
By Dakota Wayne
On Tuesday, July 12, 2022, the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots reportedly agree on a deal to send the former first-round selection, N’Keal Harry, to the Bears in return for a 2024 seventh-round draft pick.
At long last, the #Patriots trade former first-rounder N'Keal Harry and it’s the #Bears as his landing spot for a 2024 7th rounder, per me and @MikeGarafolo. A solid upside move for Chicago, while New England moves on with a strong group itself.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 12, 2022
Chicago Bears receive N’Keal Harry from Patriots in return for a 2024 seventh-round pick
As a former first-round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, N’Keal Harry adds much-needed size to the underwhelming wide receiver group in Chicago.
Standing 6-foot-4, and weighing in at 225-pounds, Harry gives Justin Fields a big target to throw to, alongside Darnell Mooney, Velus Jones, Jr., Byron Pringle, and a few other wide receivers that will battle it out for a starting position in the Chicago Bears’ offense.
To this point in N’Keal Harry’s NFL career, he’s produced 57 receptions, 598 yards, and four touchdowns. Not very eye-opening to say the least, but there’s been a valid reason for these underwhelming numbers.
N’Keal Harry season-by-season stats
- 2019: 7 games/5 starts, 12 receptions/24 targets, 105 yards, 2 TDs
- 2020: 14 games/9 starts, 33 receptions/57 targets, 309 yards, 2 TDs
- 2021: 12 games/4 starts, 12 receptions/22 targets, 184 yards, 0 TDs
Now, these stats are alarming, however, for a seventh-round pick, it’s not much to give for a player that could still reach their potential.
In Harry’s rookie season, there was a hefty stack of receivers above him on the depth chart, so his lack of production was understandable. Then, in 2020, the quarterback carousel wasn’t ideal for Harry. Bouncing between Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham, and Brian Hoyer, there isn’t much firepower in the passing game. Those three quarterbacks in 2020 combined for 3,043 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Lastly, this most recent season, he was working with a rookie quarterback in Mac Jones, to whom the Patriots didn’t seem to fully hand the offense.
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N’Keal Harry might not be the second coming of Jerry Rice or Randy Moss, but acquiring Harry for a single seventh-round pick is nothing to scoff at. There’s still untapped potential in the 24-year-old former first-round selection out of Arizona State. And given his size, there’s a clear spot for him to go in and battle with the Chicago Bears for years to come.