ASU Football: Cam Newton Defends Little Brother N'Keal Harry
Sunday's matchup between the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots saw the good and the bad from N'Keal Harry.
Good: He was tied for the team lead in catches (5) and finished second in targets (6).
Bad: On a 1st-and-goal from the 10-yard line, Patriots quarterback Cam Netwon completed a pass to Harry, but as he stretched his arm out to score a touchdown on the 1-yard line, he fumbled it through the back of the endzone for a touchback.
This gave the Dolphins the ball back with them scoring on the very next drive.
It was a clear mistake by the second-year wide receiver. But when Newton was asked about the play, he came to the defense of Harry.
"I'll be the first person to tell you, he'd be the first person to tell you, he knows that's unacceptable. But obviously, when you just put things into perspective, and you call an apple an apple and a spade a spade, it was just one mistake. Him still being a young player, trying to come into his own, things like that will happen. You just want it to be minimized as much as possible, but he's making leaps and strides as everyone would expect him to be," Newton explained in a press conference.
The relationship between Harry and Newton has been growing all offseason. Just last week, Harry referred to Newton as a 'big brother.'
Newton has a history of working with young, talented wide receivers, going back to his days with the Carolina Panthers. He understands how his part of being a positive leader can make a strong impact on Harry's development.
"The thing that makes me and N'Keal closer is, I told him my spiel, obviously being in Carolina, I've had a N'Keal in my life for as long as my career has existed," Newton said. "So it's nothing new to come on a team, and you have a young talent at receiver and trying to morph him into the best player he can possibly be. I know N'Keal is buying in -- not only to my theory and methods but also to the team as well. Plays like that are going to happen. We just hope that's the only time it will happen."
The connection between Harry and Newton is clear, not just on the field, but off the field as well. They're already so close that Newton recently coined the nickname 'Doughboy' for the 2019 first-round pick.
Harry will look to capitalize on that nickname by eating a lot in the redzone against a Seattle Seahawks defense that gave up 450 receiving yards and two touchdowns to the Atlanta Falcons.
This is the game to pick up Harry off your fantasy football waiver wire, if you haven't done so already.