Patriots top 5 draft busts -- Where are they now?

No. 1 -- N'Keal Harry

Facts:
Draft Year: 2019
Round Selected: 1
Overall Pick: 32
Current Team: Free Agent. Harry spent 2022 with the Chicago Bears but is not, as of this time, signed with any team for 2023
2022 Production: 7 total receptions for 116 yards for the Chicago Bears

Alternative Picks: A.J. Brown or D.K. Metcalf. There were many other excellent options at the wide receiver position besides Brown and Metcalf. If you want a complete rundown of wide receivers available to the Patriots with the 32nd pick, see my article “Can Troy Brown Reverse the Curse of the WRs?”

Comment: In the 2019 version of the Patriots' “Guide to Drafting Wide Receivers,” “strength” might have been listed as its No. 1 criteria as Harry tied for first (27 reps) among wide receivers at the NFL Combine in the “Bench Press” category. Speed and agility apparently weren’t so crucial that year as Harry didn’t excel in either the 40-yard dash (24th among WRs at the Combine) or the 3-cone drill, which he reportedly ran at a relatively slow time of 7.05 seconds.

Although Harry was well-regarded by some analysts at draft time, many did not have him in their top-5 WRs, and some scouts had expressed concerns about his speed and quickness. Walter Football, for example, noted in its pre-draft analysis that sources “worry about how he is not fast in and out of breaks and don't see suddenness.”

According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Belichick took the recommendation of Todd Graham, Harry’s Arizona State coach and a friend of Belichick, over the advice of Pats’ scouts on the WR selection. Harry remains one of the most disastrous picks in Patriots history, given the multitude of accomplished WRs available and the struggle the Pats have had in finding stability at this position.