New England Patriots rookie watch 2024: Can Ja’Lynn Polk be that guy?

The New England Patriots passed up on some notable wide receivers in the 2024 NFL Draft to select Washington Huskies product Ja’Lynn Polk with the No. 37 overall pick.  On a team starving for playmakers on offense, will this pick prove to be a smart move?

There is nothing not to like about Polk who was the No. 2 receiver in a Huskies offense that featured Heisman Trophy runner up Michael Penix Jr. and Rome Odunze.  Not only does he have the ideal body type for a wide receiver, but he is also a possession type receiver who will go up and challenge for balls. While he doesn’t have great speed, Polk runs his routes with effort and finds ways to get open, which will make him an asset for Drake Maye.

New England Patriots rookie receiver Ja'Lynn Polk turning heads in training camp

Although early in training camp, Polk is already standing out as a notable receiver.  Look at this connection between Maye and Polk on Day 3 of training camp:

In this play, Polk made an adjustment on an underthrown ball by Maye.  This is the type of awareness that could make the second-round pick that guy for the Patriots.  The type of receiver who has always flourished in a Patriots’ uniform.  If you think back, players like David Givens, Brandon Lloyd, Chris Hogan and most recently Kendrick Bourne.  Those types of receivers who are not burners, but possession receivers who find ways to get open and make plays.

In other words, the Patriots didn’t selection a No. 1 receiver in Polk, but they got a player who will add some dog to the offense, a player who will work hard and find ways to make plays just like he did on that deep pass from Maye.

Yes, it’s early in training camp, but this Patriots rookie is approaching the game the right way and has the mindset to find success in his rookie season.

“I’m here to build up this team and bring what I have.  They brought me here for a reason, so I’m coming in here every single day living up to my expectations,” Polk told the media following Thursday’s practice.  “I’m not here to prove anybody wrong.  I’m just here to prove everybody that believed in me right.”

While the Patriots don’t have the receiving group that is going to scare any opposing defense, they have players at the position who can just go out and make plays.  Bourne will start the season on PUP, but players like DeMario Douglas, veteran receivers K.J. Osborn and JuJu Smith-Schuster as well as fellow rookie receiver Javon Baker make it an interesting group, especially if former second-round pick Tyquan Thornton and former first-round pick Jalen Reagor can find their strides in the offense.

In all, Polk is the interesting playmaker of this group.  If he can be what he was on a Huskies team in which he caught 69 passes for 1,159 yards and 9 touchdowns, the Patriots will have themselves a player.