Top rookies to target in 2019 fantasy football drafts
4. N’Keal Harry, WR, New England Patriots
Many of us were surprised when the New England Patriots took N’Keal Harry in the first round (32nd overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft. Harry is undoubtedly talented enough to be a first-round selection, but the Patriots do not typically value the wide receiver position like this. Simply put, Bill Belichick and company must have fallen in love with Harry and could not live without him on the roster.
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Harry is a big and physical receiver who showed an incredible catch radius in college. He can box out opposing defensive backs and shows an impressive ability to go up and win 50/50 balls. Harry also shows strong route running skills and fantastic run after catch ability.
After the retirement of Rob Gronkowski, there are clearly a lot of opportunities available in the Patriots’ offense. The Pats did not aggressively attack the tight end position this offseason, leaving a path to replacing a majority of Gronkowski’s production with wide receivers.
Harry’s size and ability to dominate in the middle of the field makes him a legitimate candidate to take on some of Gronkowski’s responsibilities in the passing game. Harry had a lot of success as a big slot receiver in college and I fully expect the Pats to look to get him involved in that role as a rookie.
It is never easy for a rookie wide receiver to make an immediate impact with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. They run a complex offense and Harry must be able to quickly gain Brady’s trust if he is going to be a fantasy football asset as a rookie.
This makes Harris a bit of a risk at his current ADP (7.12), but he has the upside to be a legitimate fantasy football league winner in that range.