Last summer, the Minnesota Vikings decided to take a chance on former first-round pick N'Keal Harry. He didn't end up making the Vikings' final 2023 roster, but the team signed him to their practice squad, and he actually wound up appearing in nine of Minnesota's games last season.
This year, Harry is back with the Vikings for another attempt at making the team's final roster. But this time, things are a bit different for the former first-round draft selection.
During his entire tenure in the NFL, Harry has lined up as a wide receiver, and the results have been pretty underwhelming. So, in an effort to potentially make an actual impact during the upcoming season, Harry has decided to switch his position to tight end.
Will N'Keal Harry be able to catch on with the Minnesota Vikings as a tight end?
With only 64 career catches since he was drafted in 2019 by the New England Patriots, this position switch feels like a bit of a last-ditch effort by Harry to save his career in the NFL.
A number of players in the league have made similar attempts in the past, including former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow, who tried to earn a roster spot with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a tight end in 2022.
Tebow's attempt with the Jaguars ended up failing, but there are multiple examples of players who have been able to switch positions successfully in the NFL, including Terrelle Pryor, Jason Peters, Logan Thomas, Devin Hester, Dante Hall, and Darren Waller.
Minnesota even has a current example of someone who successfully switched positions in Camryn Bynum, who played cornerback during his college career at California and then switched to safety when he was drafted by the Vikings in 2021.
Currently, Harry is listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds on Minnesota's team website. So, if he hasn't already, he'll likely need to add at least 10 to 15 pounds to his frame, as most tight ends in the NFL weigh around 240 pounds or more.
Will this position switch turn out to be the start of a successful career in the league for Harry, or will he continue to fail to reach the potential the Patriots thought he had when they used a first-round draft pick on him in 2019?