Late Round Flier: N'Keal Harry
After an injury riddled rookie season in 2019, the Patriots second-year wide receiver is entering 2020 with a clean bill of health.
After seeing the Patriots invest a first round pick on N’Keal Harry in the 2019 NFL Draft, fantasy football players had high expectations for the former Arizona State wide receiver in his first year in the league. However an injury in training camp sent the rookie receiver to Injured Reserve which delayed his pro debut to November. Harry played in just seven games in 2019, caught 12 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. With Tom Brady now off the roster, those looking to invest a draft pick in Harry must first decide if they trust Patriots quarterback Jarrett Stidham. We asked fantasy football analysts Frank Taddeo and Ben Heisler their thoughts on Harry’s value in fantasy football drafts for 2020.
Read the transcript from their analysis
Bill Enright: After an injury-riddled rookie season, Patriots wide receiver N'Keal Harry is entering the 2020 season with a clean bill of health. Those should fantasy football managers invest a late round pick on the Pats second year playmaker. Let's find out what the experts have to say by talking with Frank Taddeo and Ben Heisler, two of our fantasy football analysts here at Sports Illustrated. Ben, I'm going to go to you first. What do you make of N'Keal Harry for 2020?
Ben Heisler: I think is a really intriguing late round flier. I like what SI Fantasy editor Matt de Lima wrote about him right here at Sports Illustrated, that basically if you're talking about somebody in this range, you know, you're looking at him at maybe 50 something catches 650 to 700 yards and maybe three, four touchdowns as well. I mean, the most explosive option right now in that Patriots offense - Julian Edelman, Mohammed Sanu to take away some targets. But it's in the Patriots best interest right now to develop N'Keal Harry in his second season. So if the bill of health is clean, I think he's somebody that they're gonna try and feature as much as possible to get the ball in his hands.
Bill Enright: Frank, let me go over to you, because in order for anyone to believe in N'Keal Harry, they first have to believe in Jarrett Stidham. Are you okay with that quarterback situation for the Patriots?
Ben Heisler: As an Auburn Tiger SEC Fan, I believe that Jared Stidham has the ability to really take a steep leap forward in that offense. I think he has that ability that Belichick is gonna be looking for to run that offense. The issue for me isn't so much about Stidham as much. Maybe it might possibly be about Marqise Lee. Now we know that they brought him in and obviously, could he actually bite in and he's a veteran presence right now. I'm not so sure that Harry doesn't get a little bit maybe shuffled even further down the depth chart. And if he does, maybe Marqise Lee is the guy to actually look to to target among these guys. But for me, he's definitely got the best ball players are going to look at because obviously it's not going to cost you a lot. It's not a lot of draft capital there. And he's got only upside. So Harry, all he can do is go up. So at that ADP right now, Bill, at the late rounds, obviously we're all looking for steals there. And he is definitely among the names this year in 2020. That could be among the names that definitely could be a steal at that spot.
