NY Giants don’t need to trade for Patriots WR N’Keal Harry

While some may view the NY Giants as a plausible fit for disgruntled Patriots wide receiver N’Keal Harry, it’d be better for the G-Men to say ‘no.’

The NY Giants deserve a lot of credit for trying to build up the best possible offensive array of weaponry this offseason to support their embattled quarterback, Daniel Jones, who’ll need as much help as he can get if he hopes to move the G-Men’s offense away from the 31st-overall ranking it had in 2020.

It’s also possible New York isn’t close to being done, and general manager Dave Gettleman will certainly be perusing the trade block and waiver wire to scour for further addition possibilities between now and Week 1.

One of them shouldn’t be New England Patriots wide receiver N’Keal Harry, though.

Harry, the Pats’ first-round pick from the 2019 NFL Draft, has recently requested a trade through his agent, news of which was first reported by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo:

Over his first two years in the league, Harry has managed a disappointing 45 catches for 414 yards and four touchdowns. And any thoughts of him becoming another first-round bust were only magnified by New England’s own offensive struggles a year ago where Harry failed to establish himself as a primary threat.

Granted, the NY Giants have more than enough trade ammunition to make a low-risk deal with the Patriots, including five picks on day three of next year’s NFL Draft. There’s also the link with head coach Joe Judge, who worked with Harry as New England’s wide receivers coach back in 2019, too.

But that should be the only legitimate reason why the G-Men would even remotely entertain the thought of bringing in Harry.

NY Giants can’t afford, don’t need N’Keal Harry

True, Harry is only entering year three of his four-year rookie contract, so the numbers could be made affordable. According to Over the Cap, Harry is set to earn just $1.4 million after a would-be trade to a new team.

Yet OTC currently has New York at only $2.4 million above the salary cap. While that number will change a lot between now and Week 1, it’d be best for Gettleman to stash some of the additional cap savings instead of trying to invest it in a retread-kind of player.

The finances, however, are negligible in comparison to the other bigger reason why Harry doesn’t make much sense for the G-Men.

New York spent big money to bring aboard former Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay during the offseason, effectively making him WR1 for Jones heading into 2021. As far as 6-foot-4 wide receivers go, Golladay is the clearer choice over Harry.

Read More: How does Kadarius Toney fit into Giants wide receiver depth chart?

Harry might not necessarily cut into the number of targets for Golladay. But the former could certainly hinder the development of another top-ranked player, rookie wideout Kadarius Toney, who should be seeing the field early and often alongside Golladay as a prolific one-two punch.

Even trying to change out No. 3 wide receiver Sterling Shepard with Harry doesn’t carry a lot of weight. Jones either needs to have proven pass-catching targets at his disposal or someone with an untarnished developmental record, like Toney, and not someone looking to revitalize his career.

So, while there could be a logical argument for the NY Giants trying to engineer a trade for Harry, the smarter move from Gettleman’s standpoint would be to issue a hard pass.