Bears Receiver on a Mission

N'Keal Harry was the last member added to Ryan Poles' refugee receiver collection.

Now the New England Patriots first-round draft pick needs to fight off players like David Moore, Dante Pettis, Equanimeous St. Brown and Tajae Sharpe to secure a roster spot.

"This is a golden opportunity for all of us," Harry said. "It's just who's going to grab it. For me, I just feel like for me to capitalize off this, like I said earlier, I just have to show how dominant I am and I just need to be that big, strong wide receiver."

The Bears would love this. The true X-receiver is the position they never really addressed in the draft. They brought in possibles in free agency, but no one until Harry who carried this kind of physical potential.

The trouble is Harry never lived up to that potential by averaging less than 20 receptions a year in his three years playing under Bill Belichick in coordinator Josh McDaniels' idiocentric offense.

"I got a real chip on my shoulder," Harry said. "I'm looking to come in and do anything I can to help this team win. I feel like I fit very well within the offense so, you know, I'm ready to go, man."

Harry admits he requested at trade last year to get a fresh start elsewhere, and knows he has plenty of critics who say he's a first-round bust.

"No, at this point I honestly couldn't care less about what anybody has to say about me," Harry said. "I know what I can do. I'm confident in my ability and I just need to go out there and show it."

So far so good. Harry caught a couple of short passes and turned upfield during the team's first, abbreviated 80-minute practice.

The reason Harry feels he's a fit in this offense is partly due to his 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame. It favors the bigger receiver who can also contribute as a blocker.

"I just feel like just being a big guy, being able to block, being able to go up and get the ball, I feel like that could come in handy and that is something that will really work well here," Harry said.

So if Harry has this great physical ability, there must be a reason why it went south on him under Belichick and McDaniels.

"There's a lot of factors—I wasn't in that building or anything," Bears GM Ryan Poles said. "I just know what he's capable of. And I want to give him the opportunity to come here and show that he can do that and get things on the right path."

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So far so good. Harry caught a couple of short passes and turned upfield during the team's first, abbreviated 80-minute practice.

"I just want to show how dominant I could be just as a player in the NFL," Harry said.

Considering what the Bears have at the receiver position beyond Darnell Mooney, even something less than dominance would be extremely welcome.

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