New England Patriots: Tom Brady needs to find trust in N’Keal Harry

With the New England Patriots offense still looking for its identity, first-round pick N’Keal Harry has a chance to enter Tom Brady’s circle of trust.

A rookie wide receiver asked to pick up the New England Patriots complicated offensive playbook midseason is a lot to ask of N’Keal Harry, but his size and potential could be a key to finally getting Tom Brady and the offense clicking.

In his NFL debut on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Patriots 2019 first-round pick had just three catches for 18 yards and ended up playing more snaps than expected due to an injury to Phillip Dorsett.

Although the numbers weren’t mind-blowing, the other things he did on the field like block stood out as attributes he will add to the offense. But what will get a veteran quarterback like Tom Brady to target him more than the four times he looked his way in his debut?

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Well, continued hard work and being at the right places will certainly help. Also, he needs to be as ready as he was on Sunday says Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

"“It was good to get him out there and into the game,” McDaniels said during his conference call with the media, via WEEI. “I thought he was ready to play. He had a good week of practice last week. In any rookie’s first opportunity to play in the National Football League, there’s probably going to be some good and then some things to work on that you learn from those experiences in the game. There’s no way you can simulate that in practice or walkthroughs or what have you. To go in there in the game and compete against other players in that situation under pressure, I think it is a great experience and great exposure for him. He made a few catches for us and helped us move the ball. He tried to block in the run game effectively and did a decent job there.”"

Of course, the rest of the season is going to be a learning curve for the rookie wide receiver, especially with missing the first half of the year. Although it could be extra hard for younger receivers catching the ball from Tom Brady, N’Keal Harry has to gain that trust. With his size and athleticism, the way to earn that trust may be going up and getting the ball when Brady has to fit it in tight spots or when he needs a big target to get the ball to.

With Julian Edelman and Mohamed Sanu as reliable outlets for Brady, there isn’t a whole lot of pressure on Harry to have huge games in the New England Patriots offense, but it sure would help.

In all, it’s quite simple.

The Patriots offense is struggling, and Tom Brady is frustrated. What could change all that is if their first-round talent becomes a reliable target capable of big plays. We all know the Arizona State product will get there, the hope is that he will get there by the end of the season.

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Although Brady has a tough time trusting rookies and younger receivers, it is possible.

Just look at where Malcolm Mitchell was by the end of his rookie season. Not only was he a solid contributor, but he made valuable plays in that New England Patriots Super Bowl LI victory. Most importantly, he earned Brady’s trust.

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