A lot of what you say is true especially with the comparison to Harry. Jeffrey was never fast or quick.
The problem, as I see it anyway, is that I don't think Harry will make this roster either, based on his merits & not draft position, unless he makes a quantum leap in TC. That could come with a change to the slot position so he can live out his Boldin dreams. Can Harry beat out Meyers and Bourne to be our slot guy?
Also consider that we have legit TEs now to make those tough catches in the RZ without having to steal a roster spot for a guy sliding down the slippery slope into retirement.
I'm going to lay out a last-ditch hope-laden spin on Harry. Please, bear with me.
Over the first 4 weeks of the season, Harry caught 18 on 28 targets with a TD and 9 first downs. His rating was somewhere around an 88 and he broke 4 tackles. That kind of
production would have projected out to 72 catches and 4 TDs which is a far cry from his rookie year. I'm going on memory here, but he got clocked twice in the helmet and the
first one, which I believe was in the 3rd game vs. the Raiders (going on memory) appeared particularly vicious even though it didn't draw a flag. He played through it, but
something looked different in his motor skills and I think he was rocked. Then, he got number two vs. KC and that one started him on a really rocky stretch where he missed a game
and produced only 15 more catches in the remaining 11 games. He also broke zero tackles.
While our sorry offense contributed to those stats, what I saw was a guy that didn't look as athletic, showed zero explosion and even appeared tentative blocking. He was
anything but tentative as a rookie blocker and that dog don't hunt. In short, I think he may have had a more significant concussion(s) than was reported and he could not
overcome the effects. I did think he showed a little more spark to close out the season with better separation if not numbers, which might lend a little more evidence that
he recovered, but very slowly and our offense was in the toilet by that time.
So, I'm going to try to remember those flashes I saw of him as a rookie and early last season and consider that he MIGHT not be as bad as we think. Maybe he has just been
snakebit, but clearly we need to see more explosion, more physicality, more production and fewer mental mistakes or I won't be able to make any more excuses for him.