Bill Belichick Gives His First Thoughts About N’Keal Harry

There’s a lot of pressure on N’Keal Harry in his first season with the New England Patriots. And considering the fact that he is a first-round pick, it’s understandable to have high expectations.

The first task for the rookie wideout would be winning over his head coach, Bill Belichick and so far, it appears he’s been successful.

Belichick shared his initial impressions of Harry during an appearance Monday on Sirius XM NFL Radio and his opinion was mostly positive.

“A big kid that runs well. Good catch radius. Very strong, physical receiver,” Belichick said. “He has a long way to go … but he’s gotten better every day and been dependable, durable, tough. … making good progress.”

This is as good as it gets from Belichick – the man of few words. It’s actually the most positive thing he could say about a young receiver.

Given Rob Gronkowski’s retirement, Julian Edelman’s thumb injury and the status of New England’s receiver corps as a whole, the Patriots really need N’Keal Harry as support. First-year wideouts typically struggle both to gain Tom Brady’s trust and to adjust to Josh McDaniels’ complex playbook, but Harry has all the tools to speed up the process.

If Harry can continue to improve, as Belichick hopes, he will likely be among Brady’s top targets through the air.

Luckily, he is getting some excellent help. So far during training camp, Harry has been working with former Patriots wide receiver, Troy Brown to help improve his ability.

“He’s one of the greatest receivers who’s ever played here,” Harry said of the opportunity to work with Brown. “I can take a lot from him. I’m going to keep asking him questions and keep learning from him every day.”

Belichick also mentioned that he’ll have a larger role in coaching the defense now that the Patriots don’t have a defensive coordinator.