The Chicago Bears traded a 2024 7th-round pick for N’Keal Harry in a move that makes a lot of sense from their perspective. Considering where the Bears’ depth chart stands, he is another lottery ticket on a depth chart full of them. Still, you do not hear anyone say they have too many lottery tickets, especially at the price of Harry.
When thinking of the upside that Harry could bring to Chicago it is easy to point to his first-round pedigree and the fact that he was dominant in college as a true sophomore. Still, while plenty of players can start slow, it is often not the first-round picks, at least not at wide receiver.
Harry only had 598 yards in his first three NFL seasons. Since being a first-round pick is what some fans are using as hope for him, we will look only at first and second-round picks, to give us a bigger sample, and because Harry went so late in the first round.
Below are players in the first two rounds to have under 700 yards in their first two seasons since 2010.
JJ Arcega Whiteside, Andy Isabella, Dante Pettis, Jaquan Treadwell, Cody Latimer, Paul Richardson, Aaron Dobson, A.J. Jenkins, Ryan Broyles, Jon Baldwin, Stephen Hill, Brian Robiskie, Dexter McCluster, Devin Thomas.
Admit it, you drafted a lot of these guys in fantasy football at one point or the other. Still, the only name to find any sort of success is Richardson. Treadwell has caught on as a depth wideout, but there are a lot of players who just flame out. You could go back further, and just find more of the same. This shows us that being a first-round pick does not mean a change of scenery is likely to help facilitate a breakout.
Still, a name on that list is Dante Pettis. Pettis is expected to be in the running as the number four wideout, and a lot of fans expect him to make the roster. Considering Harry is younger than Pettis, and has equal production to Pettis, it could be easy to see him making the team over Pettis.
In both Pettis and Harry, we are seeing Poles bet on the pre-draft upside. If one of them shakes out and gets to the roster, it is a win.
Considering the draft capital with the trade, it should be time to treat Harry like a seventh-round pick, and not a first-rounder. Still, on this roster, where a fifth-round rookie is in-line to start at left tackle, that means Harry can make the roster.