Cardinals listed as a possible trade destination for former first-round pick

Should the Arizona Cardinals consider trading for New England Patriots wide receiver N’Keal Harry before the start of the 2021 season?

Despite having DeAndre Hopkins on their roster, the Arizona Cardinals weren’t even a top-15 passing offense in the NFL last season.

In 2020, the Cardinals ranked 17th in passing yards per game and 18th in net yards gained per pass attempt. If Arizona wants to contend for the top of the NFC West in 2021, their passing attack absolutely has to improve.

Luckily, the Cardinals were aware of their mediocre passing game last season and during the last few months, they added some additional weapons to help in this area of their offense, like free-agent A.J. Green and rookie Rondale Moore.

Should the Arizona Cardinals attempt to trade for New England Patriots receiver N’Keal Harry?

Despite adding Green and Moore to their roster this year, Arizona could still be looking to bring in more talent to help their passing attack before the upcoming season.

One potential option for the Cardinals to consider could be New England Patriots wide receiver N’Keal Harry. A first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Harry is apparently unhappy with how his first two seasons have gone with the Patriots, and he would like a fresh start somewhere else.

Recently, Patriots Wire’s Henry McKenna listed some teams that could potentially trade for Harry, and Arizona was among the squads that were featured. Here’s what McKenna had to say about a possible deal between New England and the Cardinals.

"“The Cardinals were interested in Harry earlier this summer, and while they added Rondale Moore in the second round of the NFL draft, they might be willing to part ways with Andy Isabella, a second-round pick out of UMass in 2019. Perhaps Isabella and a sixth-rounder could be the kind of package New England would accept. It’s meager — but so is Harry’s production.”"

Part of Harry’s current unhappiness with the Patriots has to do with the number of targets, or lack thereof, that he’s had during his two seasons with the team. Since joining New England in 2019, the 23-year-old receiver has been targeted just 88 times (including the playoffs).

This aspect of his trade request makes it feel like Arizona might not be the team he ends up with if the Patriots actually decide to trade him.

Unless he’s inserted as the No. 2 receiver with the Cardinals, Harry likely wouldn’t be any happier than he currently is with New England. With offensive weapons like Hopkins, Green, Moore, Christian Kirk, and Chase Edmonds out of the backfield, Arizona isn’t currently the destination for someone who is looking to get more passes thrown his way.

It would be fun to see the former Arizona State receiver and graduate of Marcos De Niza High School suit up for his hometown Cardinals. But unless someone from their wide receiver room suffers a significant injury before the upcoming season, Harry winding up with Arizona doesn’t seem very likely.