Tuesday, November 5, 2024

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Chicago Bears Trade For Needed Wide Receiver Help

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The Chicago Bears have serious questions at wide receiver going into training camp. GM Ryan Poles was reluctant to throw significant resources at the position in free agency or the draft. After seeing what the team has in OTAs and minicamps, it became clear that it wasn’t enough. They needed more. So the team decided to take a calculated risk by trading for former 1st round pick N’Keal Harry from the New England Patriots.

According to Ian Rapoport, the move costs the Bears a 7th round pick in 2024. Pretty much chump change by draft standards. The Patriots have long flirted with the idea of moving on from Harry. The wide receiver himself has sought an exit since the start of last season. Nothing came together until now. He is probably thrilled for a fresh opportunity elsewhere. Harry made 57 catches for 598 yards and four touchdowns over three seasons.

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This is a smart move by the Chicago Bears.

Will it work out? There is no way to know. The key here is they paid a cheap price while Harry is still young. He is only 24 years old. The guy went in the 1st round for a reason. Some compared him to Allen Robinson coming out of Arizona State. What he lacks in overall speed he makes up for in body control, long arms, and strong hands. Give him an opportunity to go get the ball; he was likely to come down with it.

Unfortunately, he never seemed to fit in with the Patriots’ offense. Their system is notorious for requiring precise route running. That was never his strength. He is more of an imposing possession receiver and an excellent run blocker. That is something the Chicago Bears wanted to target a lot this off-season. Luke Getsy’s wide-zone system demands receivers who can be in on the action. Harry is a perfect fit.

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Sam K.
Jul 13, 2022 10:11 am

I saw on CBS Sports they graded this trade. The grade was a B for New England and a C for the Bears. So, the Bears giving up a 7th round pick in 2024 (2 drafts away) was somehow worse than New England giving up a FIRST round drafted WR for this 7th round pick 2 years away. I get that Harry most likely will do very little. But if this trade was the Bears sending him to NE for the same pick, I can’t help but believe the Pats still get the better grade.

Wes
Wes
Jul 13, 2022 8:46 am

N Harry looks more like a tight end than a wide receiver. It would be great if Harry is more productive with the Bears having a fresh start.

ManGod
ManGod
Jul 13, 2022 6:53 am

N Harry could develop into a very good 3rd down and red zone target for the Bears. They don’t need him to be a 1000 yd over the middle or deep ball receiver, they just need him to show up in the red zone and on those critical short to medium yd 3rd downs to keep the chains moving. If they get A Boldin-type production, it will be considered a steal by the end of the season. Make things very interesting in the red zone with Kmet on one side and Harry on the other.

Mpbeezy91
Mpbeezy91
Jul 13, 2022 5:55 am

This can be a sneaky good pickup to add to Fields arsenal

ChazzB
ChazzB
Jul 12, 2022 10:21 pm

We needed a big body GUAGI receiver and blocker. He won’t threaten deep but that’s the job of Mooney and Jones. System fit not a #1 receiver obv.

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