New England Patriots rookie WR N’Keal Harry heads to IR

On Monday, the New England Patriots a potentially important part of their offense on injured reserve.

The New England Patriots spending a first-round pick on wide receiver N’Keal Harry was surprising. Harry was a talented draft prospect who was worthy of his first-round status, but the Patriots do not typically put that kind of emphasis on the position. Clearly, Bill Belichick and company believed that he was a can’t miss prospect who would greatly help their offense.

Unfortunately, Harry has not had the most impressive start to his NFL career. He has been slowed by injuries throughout the preseason and only saw action in one game. Harry was clearly passed up by undrafted rookie receiver Jakobi Meyers and it was a stretch to see him having any sort of impact early in the year.

Instead of just having Harry sit on the bench, the New England Patriots placed him on IR on Monday. Since Harry was on the Pats’ original 53-man roster, he will be eligible to return later this season. However, he will not be able to make his regular-season debut until after the first eight games. Honestly, I would be surprised to see Harry any time before the Patriots’ Week 10 bye.

Placing Harry on IR made room for the return of veteran receiver Demaryius Thomas. Thomas has also struggled with injuries throughout the preseason but proved to be healthy enough in the Patriots’ final preseason game. Thomas will likely play a major role in the offense right away.

Harry is an extremely talented receiver who possesses great contested-catch ability and can make plays with the ball in his hands. He is an ideal “big slot receiver” who can consistently find room on the outside and use his big body to shield defenders away from the ball when making the catch. He also has some nice elusiveness in the open field and does a great job of fighting for extra yardage after the first contact.

Unfortunately, Harry has yet to establish himself as a premier player for the New England Patriots, and this injury destination is not going to help matters. That being said, he is still a talented receiver who could have a major impact on the offense when he returns for the stretch run. This is undoubtedly a bump in the road for Harry, but it is still way too early to count him out.