For the first time in the Bill Belichick era, the Patriots selected a wide receiver in the first round of the NFL draft when they selected N'Keal Harry at No. 32 overall Thursday night.
Herm Edwards, his coach last season at Arizona State, joined Mut & Callahan Friday morning to discuss Harry, and it would seem the Patriots are getting a really good player.
Edwards knows a thing or two about the NFL having played and coached in the league.
“A very competitive player," he said. "He reminds me a lot, and I don’t like to get into comparing guys, but if you look at his height, his size and probably his speed, similar to Dez Bryant when you look at him. Same body build, the ability to go up and really fight for the football. He wins 90 percent of the contested balls. Not afraid to go over the middle. Has really good running skills when he gets the ball in his hands. You can see that on some tape.
"He can play inside and outside, we moved him around a little bit. He didn’t play inside a whole lot the year prior, and I kind of moved him around. I wanted to get the ball inside to get some matchups. He’s a competitor. I am talking every day. He fits the mold. Every day is a work day for him. He takes the field trying to get better. Doesn’t like losing anything. He’s built that way. He’s an emotional guy. He gets emotional at times, but I think that is just maturity. You got yourself a good football player. There’s no doubt about that.”
The 6-foot-2, 228 pounder played in 37 career games before declaring for the draft as a junior.
In his career as a Sun Devil, he finished with 213 catches for 2,289 yards and 22 touchdowns. As a junior this fall, he hauled in 73 passes for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns. The yards were second in the Pac-12, while the receptions and touchdowns were fourth.
Harry figures to be a Day 1 contributor considering the current Patriots wide receiver depth chart.
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