5th y option deadline + poll [update : WYNN yes . SONY no]

[Deus Irae]

Harry will make the team this year. He's a good receiver

No, he's not. Or, at least, he hasn't been. He's been crap.

 

[pctronics0072]

Harry will make the team this year. He's a good receiver who is going to be on his third QB in three years. Brady wanted nothing to do with helping rookies his last year here and said so. It was obnoxious. Harry made 33 catches last season in an offense with little help to draw coverage to others and a QB who couldn't throw accurately, and now he gets a rookie QB who was the most accurate passer in college football.

I think Harry will thrive this year and be a matchup problem for teams that have to account for Hunter Henry, Nelson Agholor, James White, and whoever wins the battle for the slot receiver job (who I don't think is on the roster yet.) At 6'4, 225, Harry becomes a problem for the 3rd corner in a dime package or a safety in zone coverage.

Can I have some of whatever you are taking? Would make life a whole lot more positive.

 

[Patriot Missile]

All I got to say is “Run like your life depended on it Sony.” Run angry if you can.

Still got loyalty to him for that magical playoff run in 18. However, this world is a what have you done for me lately? I’m sure he knows what’s at stake here.

 

[Ollie]

Sony looked great last year when sharing time with Harris after coming back from injury, and 5.7 a carry is very good.

 

[PaulThePat]

So does this mean Sony becomes a free agent after next season?

 

[Turkamu]

Right now it means he's scheduled to become a free agent next season. It does not prevent the pats from giving him an extension though. Depending on how he plays and if he stays healthy, i could see them give him a 3 year extension with no dead money after the second year. Something like 3y/10m 5m guaranteed.

 

[SBLIII]

So does this mean Sony becomes a free agent after next season?

yup. Maybe not carrying the load will help him

 

[SBLIII]

With Onwenu on board it eliminates tackle need for 2022 altogether..

I still think tackle is a need for next year unless Herron shows up as a starting caliber OT or Cajuste wakes up from death. It isn't as big of a need as corner but right behind that imo

 

[SBLIII]

Harry will make the team this year. He's a good receiver who is going to be on his third QB in three years. Brady wanted nothing to do with helping rookies his last year here and said so. It was obnoxious. Harry made 33 catches last season in an offense with little help to draw coverage to others and a QB who couldn't throw accurately, and now he gets a rookie QB who was the most accurate passer in college football.

I think Harry will thrive this year and be a matchup problem for teams that have to account for Hunter Henry, Nelson Agholor, James White, and whoever wins the battle for the slot receiver job (who I don't think is on the roster yet.) At 6'4, 225, Harry becomes a problem for the 3rd corner in a dime package or a safety in zone coverage.

I actually agree with this, lol. He will never justify his pick but I don't think he is going to be absolute crap like some think. The situations he has been put in were suboptimal. Not every rookie or 2nd year player just jumps onto the scene, Edelman was sitting on the bench for 4 years. The lack of separation skills are concerning but he should work better with a more accurate QB whose arm is not falling off. I also don't think McDaniels has done a good job using him. NE is better off to not use early picks on WR and CB though.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

I actually agree with this, lol. He will never justify his pick but I don't think he is going to be absolute crap like some think. The situations he has been put in were suboptimal. Not every rookie or 2nd year player just jumps onto the scene, Edelman was sitting on the bench for 4 years. The lack of separation skills are concerning but he should work better with a more accurate QB whose arm is not falling off. I also don't think McDaniels has done a good job using him. NE is better off to not use early picks on WR and CB though.

I can get on board with this optimism. He still needs to be more consistent, but every several games he'll show a decent play (final drive in Seattle, a few of his red zone TDs, his catch and run down the left sideline through traffic, a couple stop and go back shoulder catches, etc). If he can produce one of those a game, and keep the chains moving, I don't see why he can't be a #3/4 and salvage his career. He likely will never justify his draft slot, but he can still contribute if he's more sudden and shows some of the physicality I liked about him in college.

 

[goheels22002]

I can get on board with this optimism. He still needs to be more consistent, but every several games he'll show a decent play (final drive in Seattle, a few of his red zone TDs, his catch and run down the left sideline through traffic, a couple stop and go back shoulder catches, etc). If he can produce one of those a game, and keep the chains moving, I don't see why he can't be a #3/4 and salvage his career. He likely will never justify his draft slot, but he can still contribute if he's more sudden and shows some of the physicality I liked about him in college.

The best part of both observations by @reamer and @SBLIII is whether we judge Harry by his draft pick or his ability. Expectations were set so high that somehow he was going to click from the beginning with Brady who already had one foot out the door due to his ennui with Belichick , his contract, and the general lack of skill-player talent after Gronk retired.

I don't think that @Deus Irae comment that Harry is not a good player works in this situation. Harry has shown flashes and guts. He got lit up last season because Cam was doing his best Peyton Manning imitation most Sundays, hanging his receivers out to dry for safeties and linebackers.

This receiving corps is a completely different look. What I do think is interesting is whether Meyers is a true slot receiver. He strikes me as a talented player who can line up anywhere in the formation and understand what he sees from the defense. His 2nd year development with Cam Newton is quite promising, especially with coverage schemes needing to focus on more established veterans.

 

[sb1]

No surprise with Michel. As great as he was in that Super Bowl run hIs seat right now is warm and he needs to show he belongs here.

 

[Sicilian]

Whatever Sony's future is (or isn't) with the Patriots, there are worse things than having a young running back in a contract year. Plenty of motivation to run hard on every play, with enough tread left on the tires for it to still matter. Best case scenario for us I think is Sony plays well enough that some other team overpays for him in FA, and Stevenson makes a Harris-like jump in year 2 to take his place.

 

[Deus Irae]

I actually agree with this, lol. He will never justify his pick but I don't think he is going to be absolute crap like some think. The situations he has been put in were suboptimal. Not every rookie or 2nd year player just jumps onto the scene, Edelman was sitting on the bench for 4 years. The lack of separation skills are concerning but he should work better with a more accurate QB whose arm is not falling off. I also don't think McDaniels has done a good job using him. NE is better off to not use early picks on WR and CB though.

Edelman was backing up Wes Welker, the greatest slot WR in the history of the NFL, for 4 years. Who's Harry been sitting behind?

 

[Deus Irae]

I don't think that @Deus Irae comment that Harry is not a good player works in this situation.

Except it does. It obviously does. It unquestionably does. And all of you are clowning yourselves when you try to argue otherwise, rather than just acknowledging the blatantly obvious and hoping for a significant change moving forward.


Ryan Leaf once threw for over 300 yards, and had a passer rating of over 100, in a game. But he still sucked, and he was still out of the NFL in a hurry.

 

[goheels22002]

Except it does. It obviously does. It unquestionably does. And all of you are clowning yourselves when you try to argue otherwise, rather than just acknowledging the blatantly obvious and hoping for a significant change moving forward.


Ryan Leaf once threw for over 300 yards, and had a passer rating of over 100, in a game. But he still sucked, and he was still out of the NFL in a hurry.

My goodness, surely you aren't comparing hothead Ryan Leaf to N'Keal Harry. Ryan Leaf washed out because he just couldn't handle the pressure of being an NFL QB in the same way that Johnny Clipboard Manziel couldn't. N'Keal Harry has none of those issues.

If anyone is to blame for N'Keal Harry's struggles it's Bill Belichick and the Patriots brain trust for using a first round pick on Harry. You yourself have written that one can't really measure the effectiveness of a draft until you see where these rookies are in year three. I'd say this is a make or break year for Harry as a Patriot, but I wouldn't compare him to Ryan Leaf.

The question is whether N'Keal Harry's paltry 59.7% catch rate (33 receptions on 57 targets in 2020) was a function of his talent or a function of the pathetic passing by Cam Newton and Jared Stidham. A significant change may indeed happen in 2021 if Newton is better or is replaced by Mac Jones.

 

[Deus Irae]

My goodness, surely you aren't comparing hothead Ryan Leaf to N'Keal Harry. Ryan Leaf washed out because he just couldn't handle the pressure of being an NFL QB in the same way that Johnny Clipboard Manziel couldn't. N'Keal Harry has none of those issues.

If anyone is to blame for N'Keal Harry's struggles it's Bill Belichick and the Patriots brain trust for using a first round pick on Harry. You yourself have written that one can't really measure the effectiveness of a draft until you see where these rookies are in year three. I'd say this is a make or break year for Harry as a Patriot, but I wouldn't compare him to Ryan Leaf.

The question is whether N'Keal Harry's paltry 59.7% catch rate (33 receptions on 57 targets in 2020) was a function of his talent or a function of the pathetic passing by Cam Newton and Jared Stidham. A significant change may indeed happen in 2021 if Newton is better or is replaced by Mac Jones.

I'm comparing garbage players, solely for the purpose of demonstrating that even garbage players can have an occasional day where they don't suck. You defending a garbage player based upon his past garbage play does you no credit. You using terrible excuses like "Belichick's fault!" does you even less. And using my point "You yourself have written that one can't really measure the effectiveness of a draft until you see where these rookies are in year three" in a misleading manner is even worse. There's no rule requiring a 3 year waiting period on an individual player's evaluation. Teams take 90 players to camp and cut 37 before the team's first game (using averages, not counting every roster move), after all.


It's ok for fans to admit that some players on their team suck, even highly drafted players, just as it's ok to hope such players turn it around.