Vikings Sign Former First-Rounder
Roster moves are happening almost on a daily basis during training camp. Players at the bottom end of the roster are released and signed all the time and many of those moves aren’t very notable but the latest transaction of Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is very surprising as they signed a new wideout with a high draft pedigree.
Vikings Sign Former First-Rounder
The Vikings agreed to a deal with ex-Patriots draft bust N’Keal Harry. He will join the receiver room led by All-Pro Justin Jefferson. The needed room on the roster was created by putting James Lynch on IR who tore his ACL in practice.
Harry was a massive disappointment for the Patriots. He was the 32nd pick of the 2019 draft. Four picks later, the 49ers selected star receiver Deebo Samuel. He’s not the only great pass catcher picked in the round after Harry, as both Ole Miss stars, A.J. Brown and DK Metcalf, heard their names called in the second round. Dionte Johnson went early in the third round to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Prior to last season, the Patriots shipped him to the Chicago Bears in the NFC North for a seventh-rounder. In 40 career games through four seasons and two teams, Harry caught 64 passes for 714 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also rushed for 49 yards on 5 attempts as a rookie.
Harry played for Arizona State in college and recorded 1,000-yard seasons in his final two campaigns. He also scored 17 touchdowns combined in those two seasons. While he has never turned into the receiver the Patriots hoped for.
It will be hard for Harry to even earn a roster spot because the WRs are quietly the strong suit of the Vikings. Jefferson is obviously the top guy, followed by K.J. Osborn and rookie Jordan Addison. The latter didn’t need much time to turn heads in the Vikings training camp. The purple team also employs Jalen Nailor who was an early camp standout but has been hurt since.
Brandon Powell, a special teams ace, has shown some skills as a true wide receiver and might steal the punt return job from Jalen Reagor because of it. Reagor is a comparable player to Harry from a draft-bust standpoint. Neither of the two was able to live up to their first-round pedigree but the Vikings still try to help them get better players.
The signing is a blow to some receivers with outside chances for a roster spot. Guys like Blake Proehl, Trishton Jackson, and Lucky Jackson have now one more competitor to beat in the race for the 53-man roster. Potentially, the addition was made because of the injuries of Nailor and Jackson.
Harry is a low-cost signing and could be an interesting player size for Kevin O’Connell to move around the formation. At 6’4″ and 225 lbs, Harry is among the biggest receivers on the roster.
He is still only 25 years old. and now must get up to speed with the playbook. His first potential showing in a Vikings uniform is on August 10th when the team travels to Seattle to take on the Seahawks.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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