The Green Bay Packers will undoubtedly be one of the most active teams on NFL Draft day and with four picks in the first two rounds, trade possibilities abound.
The position on the Packers’ roster most in need of upgrades is that of wide receiver, a deficiency the team is expected to address early, and potentially often, when picks begin flying off the board on Thursday, April 28.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell has suggested a handful of deals Green Bay might strike to either improve their draft position and select a wideout, or acquire a pass catcher who has already established himself in the league. One of Barnwell’s proposals accomplishes both of those goals via a single trade with the New England Patriots.
As part of the proposal in question, the Packers would send the No. 28 pick in the first round and one of their two second-round selections (No. 59 overall) to New England in exchange for the No. 21 pick in the first round, a third-round selection (No. 85 overall) and wide receiver N’Keal Harry, a former first-round selection by the Patriots in 2019.
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Harry’s Career Could Find New Life as Member of Green Bay Packers
GettyWide receiver N’Keal Harry of the New England Patriots looks on from the sidelines during a game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on October 24, 2021 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Packers fans may not jump for joy at the proposition of bringing in Harry, the No. 32 overall pick three years ago, who has inarguably failed to live up to the billing of the second wide receiver selected overall in that year’s draft.
Harry has caught just 57 passes for a total of 598 yards and four TDs over the course of his three-year NFL career. In two of those three seasons, the young wideout pulled in just 12 catches. As a point of reference, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who led the NFL in receptions last season, caught at least 10 passes in five different regular season games.
While Harry’s career stat line lends itself strongly to the notion that he is a bust, it should also be noted that he has appeared in only 33 games over the course of his professional tenure, starting just 18 of those. Legendary signal caller Tom Brady was Harry’s quarterback for only seven of his appearances and five of his starts. The rest of the time, Harry was catching passes from an over-the-hill Cam Newton and rookie Mac Jones.
Packers Would Assume Little Risk in Proposed Deal For N’Keal Harry
GettyQuarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers drops back to pass during a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on January 2, 2022 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Due to his lack of production, Harry quickly fell out of favor with Patriots’ fans. He presumably has also fallen from the good graces of New England head coach Bill Belichick, as the most recent in a long line of draft misses at the wide receiver position.
However, in his argument for moving Harry to the Packers as part of an incentive package for a draft day trade, Barnwell noted that a change of scenery could prove career-altering for the wideout. And if it doesn’t work, Green Bay would lose basically nothing.
Barnwell laid out the details and justification for his proposal in a piece published on Wednesday, April 20.
There’s something a little weird about the Packers trading up to No. 21 when they also pick at No. 22, but this would be a way to attack if there are two prospects who stand out as their pick approaches. General manager Brian Gutekunst has extra picks in the first, second and fourth rounds, so Green Bay has more draft capital than most teams if it wants to be selective. It can move up here, draft a wide receiver with one of its two first-round picks and simultaneously take a flier on Harry, who needs a change of scenery after a disappointing tenure with the Pats.
New England would get another one of the second-round picks Belichick loves while remaining in position to address the offensive line or secondary at No. 28. Moving on from Harry might be seen as a plus by some Patriots fans; this deal values him as being worth the 216th pick in a typical draft. The Packers would decline Harry’s fifth-year option and give him a shot for 2022, when he’s signed for a modest $1.9 million, only 36% of which is guaranteed.
The Packers are expected to draft at least one wide receiver in the first two rounds of the draft. Green Bay currently owns the rights to picks No. 22, 28, 53 and 59. Picks 22 and 53 were acquired in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders that sent All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to the AFC West Division earlier this offseason, leaving the wideout cupboard mostly bare for four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
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Packers Trade Proposal Nets Former 1st-Round WR, Moves GB Up in Draft