FOXBOROUGH – Ja’Lynn Polk looks like a prime candidate to join the Patriots wide receiver graveyard, reserved for early round draft picks who prove to be busts.
Tyquan Thornton (2022), N’Keal Harry (2019), Aaron Dobson (2013) and Chad Jackson (2006) are card-carrying members of the club.
Polk, the team’s 2024 second-round pick, seemed on the road to breaking the mold in training camp. He was impressive, making plays all over the field.
All of that promise however, hasn’t translated to the game field. In the real games, a slew of dropped passes, costly penalties and other assorted miscues have given reason for pause.
The good news?
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There’s still time for Polk to snap out of it, play more like a second-rounder and avoid the usual fate of the team’s high-end receiver picks.
Jerod Mayo said last week he wanted to see more of his younger players, Polk among them, down the stretch. He wants to get a better read on these players. Perhaps Polk will get that time following the bye, in the four remaining games.
Speaking with the receiver Tuesday, Polk is well aware his play hasn’t lived up to the hype.
But he still has faith he’ll be able to change his course given the work he’s put in during practice, and the chemistry he’s developed with fellow rookie Drake Maye. He’s hoping it’s only a matter of time before that translates on the field.
“I can say it’s completely different in practice from what everybody sees, from how things have gone on the field,” Polk told MassLive Tuesday. “It’s only a matter of time before people see the connection that we do have. We just gotta keep trusting it, keep being patient, and keep trusting the journey.”
Whether the former Washington star sees more snaps during the final four games, or continues to sit behind Kendrick Bourne, Pop Douglas and Kayshon Boutte, remains to be seen.
For his part, Polk is riding the wave the best he can.
“I can just control what I can control,” Polk said. “All I can do is continue to practice hard each and every day. Go on out there compete at a high level, do what my coaches tell me to do. It’s not my job to say I’m going to go out there this next game and have a great game.
“I can just go out there and compete at a high level, and make sure I’m doing what I gotta do.”
To this point, Polk has caught 12 passes for 87 yards. He’s caught two touchdown passes, but can’t seem to get out of his own way when he’s on the field. It’s been a similar ride for fourth-round receiver Javon Baker, who’s buried even further down the depth chart.
The Patriots, perhaps trying to change his luck, moved Polk’s locker across the aisle last week, seating him next to Bourne and on the same side with Douglas, Boutte, KJ Osborn, Maye and the other quarterbacks.
Polk likes being closer to his receiver group. For him to change the script, he needs to earn more reps, and make better use of the time he’s on the field on game days. He needs to make plays, and show off that chemistry with Maye.
“I feel like reps in the game will make a difference, for sure,” he said. “Just getting a feel for the game, especially at receiver, getting the feel of being out there, having the ball in your hands, being able to move around away from defenders. Just having the opportunity to go out there and compete for a ball. It definitely gives you a different feel of the game. But, I can just control what I can control.”
Three time Super Bowl champion Deion Branch is one success story as an early round draft pick for the Patriots. The hope was Polk would be another.
Perhaps it’s wishful thinking to believe he’ll turn it around. Maye is certainly rooting for him. He’s done his best to pump up his classmate.
What happens from here on out, however, is up to Polk. Either he turns the corner in the remaining games, into next year, or he joins the dreaded Patriots receiver graveyard.
“I can’t sit here and complain about anything, where I’m at, where we are right now as a team,” Polk said. “All I can do is be grateful for my journey and where I’m at right now and just continue to get better.”
