Getty N'Keal Harry runs away from the Bengals in 2019.
The Detroit Lions have made some huge changes to their offense during the offseason, but the opportunity exists for the team to make yet another move to shake things up a bit more.
New England Patriots wideout N’Keal Harry has requested a trade from the team, and given that information, folks are beginning to ponder his next fit in the league. As expected, many believe the Lions could be a team that fits Harry given their need for a wideout is still fairly strong.
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NFL analyst Maurice Moton tweeted that he believes the Lions would be the best fit for Harry thanks to the targets that they could guarantee the wideout, a big reason he wants to depart from New England.
RE: N’Keal Harry
If you’re a WR who wants more targets, the #Lions are the destination.
Tyrell Williams is probably their No. 1. Perriman has battled injuries. Amon-Ra St. Brown is a rookie (who I think could contribute early).
Opportunities are there.
As for the likelihood of a trade, the price would have to be right from the Detroit perspective, which means potentially a middle to late round pick. Harry is still only 23 years old, so he has some time to turn things around in a new locale if the Lions chose to pursue a trade.
In terms of fit, the Lions might be the best thanks to their current situation at wideout. This offseason, the team lost more than half of their wideouts, so the chance is there for more touches for a guy like Harry if a trade is made.
Harry’s Career Stats and Highlights
Since coming into the league as a first-round pick of the Patriots in 2019, Harry has run hot and cold in his career and it’s safe to say has not made the type of impact that many people thought he would be capable of. Harry was a two-time first-team All-Pac 12 player with Arizona State, but in the NFL, only has 414 yards and 4 touchdowns to his credit in spite of being a top option for the Patriots through the last few years.
Here’s a look at some highlights:
Harry still has plenty of talent, but finding a way to tap into that is the goal of his next team, and for the Lions, it could be worth the risk knowing this.
Lions Working on Fixing Wideout Depth
The Lions came into the offseason in an unsure position in terms of their wide receiver depth, but during free agency, have taken some steps to make some decent upgrades to the position. Detroit signed wideouts Tyrell Williams and Breshad Perriman to short-term deals in free agency, and with the addition of Damion Ratley and Kalif Raymond, could be in good position to ensure that they have depth ahead of the NFL Draft, where the team is expected to be active hunting for wideout talent for the future.
Detroit’s 2021 draft was not very active in terms of wideout, but the team did add Amon-Ra St. Brown to the team as well as a few priority wideouts like Sage Surratt and Jonathan Adams. They also have players still on the rster lik Quintez Cephus and Tom Kennedy looking to make a jump. Though Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones and Danny Amendola were major talents, it seems the tam has already taken an aggressive approach in looking for their replacements and adding a few younger options to the mix.
Will Harry be a part of that approach? That is tough to say, but some believe it should be the case.