Patriots: Why N’Keal Harry Benefits Greatly From Cam Newton Signing

Patriots fans should have high hopes for N’Keal Harry during his sophomore season.

When Bill Belichick spent a first-round pick on N’Keal Harry in 2019, New England Patriots fans expected a huge rookie campaign from the former Arizona State Sun Devils wide receiver.

However, the team hardly got that. In seven games he recorded just 12 receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns. He missed time due to an ankle injury that landed him on IR to begin the season, but he also just couldn’t get into a groove when he stepped on the field.

He was targeted 24 times in the regular season (dropping one pass) and seven times in the team’s lone playoff game, and hauled in two passes. Nonetheless, he showed great potential with his hands, balance, strength and speed. And he should benefit even further with Cam Newton coming to town.

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Newton played eight full seasons with the Panthers and only four times did a wideout lead the team in receiving (and two of those came from Steve Smith back in 2011 and 2012). The other times it was Greg Olsen (3) and Christian McCaffrey (1), with Devin Funchess and Kelvin Benjamin serving as Cam’s No. 1 targets in 2017 and 2014. That’s surely good news for Harry.

Why? Because he spreads the ball around and doesn’t rely on a surefire top wideout. In Cam’s third year, after Smith was the unquestioned go-to target for his first two seasons, the Panthers had a generous distribution of receiving yards with Olsen (816), Smith (715), Brandon LaFell (627), Ted Ginn Jr. (556), DeAngelo Williams (333), and Mike Tolbert (184).

Even in the year when Cam won MVP and the Panthers went to the Super Bowl, it was Olsen (1,104), Ginn Jr. (739), Jerricho Cotchery (485), Funchess (473), and Corey Brown (447) leading the way. Newton had 35 touchdowns going to eight different receivers.

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So it’s safe to say we shouldn’t bank on Newton zoning in on one target. While Julian Edelman and Mohamed Sanu stand to be the the Patriots’ leading receivers, spreading the ball will be key for Newton’s success, which means there will be plenty of opportunities for Harry as long as he can get separation and break off his routes once Newton starts scrambling.

With so many more weapons at his disposal (arguably the most he’s ever had), expect Newton to incorporate as many players as he possibly can when he drops back in the pocket, with Harry being a top beneficiary.