New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton helped his receivers reach new heights in Week 2, with Julian Edelman and N’Keal Harry logging career highs in receiving yards against the Seattle Seahawks.
Newton has been positive, supportive and even defensive when asked receiving corps, which feels notable after a season in 2019 when Tom Brady wasn’t quite so publicly jazzed about his pass-catchers, roughly the same group in 2020. But the narrative that Brady wasn’t helping and mentoring Harry, who had a rough season, seems to be off.
“When it comes to wanting me to succeed in that regard, I think Tom wanted me to succeed just as much (as Newton),” Harry told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s just hard trying to compare it. I just think as a rookie, it was just hard for me to grasp the offense missing half of the season and getting thrown in there like that. So like I said, it really is hard to compare. But it is helpful to have Cam guiding me along.”
Harry spent the first eight games of the season on injured reserve before returning for the second half of the season when he recorded 12 catches, 105 yards and two touchdowns. Brady and the Patriots tried to get Harry heavily involved in the offense during the team’s lone postseason game, but the young wideout converted his seven targets into just two receptions for 21 yards.
In Week 2 of this season, however, Harry got 12 targets, eight receptions and 72 yards. He managed a fourth-down conversion and made a reception that put the Patriots on the 1-yard line with three seconds left in the game. Unfortunately, they could not get the ball into the end zone on the final play.
“It’s good to have trust from my quarterback,” Harry said when asked about getting four targets and three receptions in the Patriots’ final drive Sunday. “It means a lot. To me, it means he trusts me in a critical situation. … I take pride in that.”
Harry’s contributions have New England buzzing about the potential for him, Newton and the rest of the Patriots offense.
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