Washington Football Team shouldn’t pursue a N’Keal Harry trade

The New England Patriots selected N’Keal Harry in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. So far, the Arizona State product hasn’t had much success at the NFL level.

In 21 games spanning two seasons, Harry has caught just 45 passes for 414 yards. He does have four touchdowns during that span, but the 6-foot-4 receiver has largely struggled to separate and that has caused him to fall out of favor a bit with the Patriots.

As such, the Patriots have reportedly been looking to trade Harry this offseason if they can get the proper compensation. According to ESPN’s John Keim, the Washington Football Team is among the teams that have a potential interest in Harry’s services.

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"Washington’s quest to add more offensive talent could include New England WR N’Keal Harry. The team is monitoring his situation, according to multiple sources. The 6-foot-4 Harry, a first-round pick in 2019, hasn’t produced and could be traded. WFT GM Martin Mayhew was in San Francisco when the 49ers showed interest in Harry before the 2019 draft. At least three other teams could be interested. One source said it’s hard to imagine New England settling for anything less than a fourth-round pick."

It makes sense that teams would be interested in a buy-low move for Harry’s services. After all, he was a first-round pick just two years ago, and one could feasibly blame some of his lacking production on a Patriots offense devoid of any weapons in 2020.

That said, the Washington Football Team shouldn’t pursue a trade for N’Keal Harry.

The reasoning here is simple. While Harry does have some upside, his lack of ability to separate is a massive concern. That was the No. 1 issue coming into the 2019 NFL Draft. He needed to improve in that area to maximize his surprising athleticism and run after the catch ability. However, he has largely been just a contested-catch threat — and a middling one at that.

Could Harry improve? Sure. It’s certainly possible. But it’s also worth noting that Washington has a lot of other players that could potentially do just as good a job as Harry.

Cam Sims flashed great athletic ability and has good size. Antonio Gandy-Golden was a fourth-round pick last year and with another year to learn the system, he could be ready to make an impact. Kelvin Harmon should be 100 percent as well, and he looked like a solid complement to Terry McLaurin in 2019 before missing the entire 2020 season.

And if Washington still wants to add receiver talent, the 2021 NFL Draft class is very deep at the position, so they could add some serious talent to their receiver room even without using a first-round pick. If the price for Harry is low enough, he may outweigh some of the available options. However, if he costs a fourth-round pick or more as the Patriots are hoping, that’s a price that Washington shouldn’t pay for Harry.

Trading for Harry wouldn’t be the worst move for Washington, but they definitely shouldn’t give up much if they do consider him. They’re probably better off avoiding Harry and targeting another athletic receiver in the draft.

The Washington Football Team doesn’t need another Josh Doctson. And that may be the path that Harry is heading down two years into his career.