The Bears took a quality roll of the dice in their search for a productive wide receiver Tuesday when they acquired 2019 first-round draft pick N’Keal Harry from the Patriots for a 2024 seventh-round pick, NFL Network reported.
The 6-4, 225-pound Harry was taken 32nd overall by the Patriots but has been a disappointment in three seasons. Harry had 57 receptions for 598 yards (10.5 average) and four touchdowns in 33 games (18 starts). He had 12 receptions for 184 yards (15.3 average) and no touchdowns in 2019.
Harry’s playing time withered with the Patriots in 2021 as Jakobi Meyers (83 receptions, 866 yards, two touchdowns) and Kendrick Bourne (55-800, five touchdowns) stepped up. With former Dolphins wide receiver DeVante Parker joining veteran Nelson Agholor, Harry quickly became the odd man out.
Though there was speculation that the Patriots would cut Harry, acquiring him for a late-round draft pick is a reasonable risk for the Bears, who have a modest wide-receiver corps that, by the numbers, is the least-accomplished in the NFL.
Harry, in fact, is the highest-drafted wide receiver on the Bears’ roster. Dante Pettis, a second-round pick of the 49ers in 2018, is the only other receiver drafted before the third round.
Darnell Mooney, a 2020 fifth-round pick who had 81 receptions for 1,055 yards (13.0 average) and four touchdowns last season, is the Bears’ No. 1 receiver heading into training camp. Rookie Velus Jones Jr., a third-round pick, is expected to get an opportunity to play a key role this season.
General manager Ryan Poles filled in with complementary receivers from other teams — Byron Pringle (Chiefs), Equanimeous St. Brown (Packers), Tajae Sharpe (Titans, Falcons), David Moore (Seahawks from 2017 to 2020) and Pettis (49ers, Giants).
With his size and draft pedigree, Harry, 24, figures to be near the front of the line in the Bears’ search for productive wide receivers when they open training camp July 27. Outside of Mooney, the 11 other receivers on the roster had fewer than 1,000 receiving yards last year (90-996, six touchdowns). But offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is confident productive players will emerge in his offense.
“Of course everybody wants Davante Adams,” Getsy said in May. “But Davante wasn’t Davante until he became Davante. I think the system will enable some of these guys to play at their potential. We’ll give them an opportunity to show ’em what they’ve got.”
