Ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, NFL brass have descended on the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis to evaluate future draft picks. Speaking in Indianapolis, New England Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf took the opportunity to evaluate a past draft pick: receiver Ja’Lynn Polk.
Selected with the 37th overall pick in last year’s draft out of Washington, Polk caught a measly 12 passes on 33 targets for 87 yards and two touchdowns while showcasing a serious case of the drops as a rookie. On an offense desperate for an injection of offensive talent to pair with quarterback Drake Maye, the Washington product’s first season was an abject failure.
According to Wolf, however, Polk’s dismal rookie campaign could be the result of an organizational failure:
Wolf on Ja’Lynn Polk’s rookie season: “Organizationally, we maybe put too much on his plate.”
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) February 26, 2025
Wolf’s defense of Polk’s is obviously selfishly incentivized as well. New England originally possessed the 34th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but Wolf swung a deal with the Los Angeles Chargers that sent the 34th and 137th picks to the Chargers in exchange for L.A.’s 37th and 110th overall picks. With the 34th pick, the Chargers selected Georgia wideout Ladd McConkey. When McConkey came to Foxborough in Week 17, he surpassed Polk’s season receiving total and equaled Polk’s touchdown output as the Chargers hung 40 points on the Patriots. Oh, and receiver Javon Baker - whom the Patriots took with the 110th pick acquired in the same trade - recorded only a single catch for 12 yards. Needless to say, Wolf himself has some answering to do regarding Polk’s selection.
Despite coming quite short of WR1 numbers, Polk carried himself as such. After then-head coach Jerod Mayo suggested that the rookie needed to overcome a mental hurdle to combat his drop issues, Polk countered that he had the “best hands in the league” and that drops were not an issue for him - a claim easily disputed by anyone who watched a quarter of Patriots football in 2024. After Polk had a disastrous showing in London during a Week 7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mayo stated "We need more from Polk. We need more concentration. He’ll be a good player in this league, just got to continue to work at it." Unsurprisingly, the wideout reacted negatively to his coach's feedback, taking to Instagram to suggest that he was done with the Patriots.
🚨BREAKING: #Patriots rookie WR Ja'Lynn Polk just posted PEACE on IG, after coach Jerod Mayo called him out for his 3 drops.
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 20, 2024
😳
WHAT A DISASTER… pic.twitter.com/zhllDysSex
Under new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, perhaps Polk's career receives a much-needed revival in his sophomore season. New England's draft history at the receiver position is categorically abysmal, and conversations about Polk's 2024 play too frequently also featured mentions of former first-round bust N'Keal Harry. The organization also parted ways last season with 2022 second-round wideout Tyquan Thornton.
Given the Patriots' inability to draft receivers, the team may be forced to turn to the trade or free agency market, where Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins is expected to be at the top of the team's wish list. Higgins could join the Patriots in free agency or arrive via a tag-and-trade scenario should Cincinnati decide to franchise tag the 26-year-old. The addition of Higgins to a talent-depleted Patriots receiver room could certainly go a long way toward taking pressure off of Polk.