Former Patriots Draft Bust Switches Positions With New Team

N’Keal Harry was one of the worst first-round draft picks in recent memory for New England, and it’s safe to say that it wasn’t the Patriots’ fault it didn’t work out. 

Harry’s best season with the Patriots resulted in 33 receptions for 309 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 14 games in the 2020 season.

Now, he’s resorting to a last-ditch effort to stick in the NFL by switching positions to… tight end?

It’s a bit of a curious move, but you can’t blame Harry for trying to find a role.

Harry Switching to Tight End in Minnesota

Harry never made much of an impact as a Patriot, and he’s been even worse since leaving New England.

In the time since, he played for Chicago for one season (7 rec. for 116 yards, 1 TD) and then was released by the Vikings just ahead of the 2023 season.

Now, he’s back with the Vikings, and the 6-foot-4, 225-pound player is going to try to make the move to tight end. 

N’Keal is really fired up about it,” O’Connell said, “He has attacked the process, long before we even got started in the offseason program. But you’re hoping to see the receiving traits lead the way early on, as they get a little more comfort in maybe having their hand down, being a part of run schemes, the different kind of run schemes that we’re implementing, and N’Keal has shown that. . . . At this stage in his career a position change is unique, but we’re hoping we’re developing a guy who can be a real third-down weapon, red-zone weapon, with his skill set.”

It makes sense for the Vikings as they have TJ Hockenson recovering from a torn ACL and his backups – Josh Oliver and Robert Tonyan – aren’t the best backup options. 

But this move can’t be good news for Harry. 

Clearly, this is being done to suit a short-term need for the Vikings. If he doesn’t excel right away, this could be the end of his NFL career. 

If he can’t crack a WR room that includes Brandon Powell, Trent Sherfield and Jailen Nailor, he probably doesn’t have much hope left. 

If anything, Patriots fans can breathe a sigh of relief that their former first-round pick didn’t blossom into a contributor somewhere else. 

That is, unless Harry turns into a big-time playmaker for (checks notes) Sam Darnold. Yeah, never mind.

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