History isn’t kind to the Patriots when it comes to the wide receiver position.
Since 2000, the franchise has drafted 21 pass catchers in the NFL Draft with 10 of those receivers being selected in the top four rounds. The names are a stark reminder of just how hard it is to draft and develop wideouts.
Out of that group, there are two main success stories. There’s Julian Edelman, a seventh-rounder, who is the only receiver on that list to finish with a 1,000-yard season. There’s also Deion Branch, who came close to 1,000 yards and was a Super Bowl hero.
After that, it gets grim. There are some minor success stories (Malcolm Mitchell for a year and David Givens for four), but mainly, under Bill Belichick the Patriots failed when it came to drafting and developing receivers in the early rounds.
The lone first-round pick (N’Keal Harry) was a bust. The second-round picks aren’t much better with Bethel Johnson, Chad Jackson, Aaron Dobson, and most recently, Tyquan Thornton.
Eliot Wolf hopes to change the team’s fortune at the receiver position, especially when it comes to second-round picks.
On Friday night, the Patriots de facto general manager was locked onto Washington receiver Ja’Lynn Polk. Wolf liked this receiver so much that before drafting him in the second round, with pick 37, he said the Patriots didn’t need to bring him in for a pre-draft visit because they had no more questions for this impressive prospect.
“He’s a guy that we had our eye on for a while. Really good fit in our offense,” Wolf said. “He’s really tough, strong. He can run all the routes. Can play inside, outside. He’s a good blocker. Really competitive – both with the ball in the air and as a run-after-the-catch player. Really just kind of a versatile do-everything-type guy. He ran a little bit faster than people expected, but when you turn the tape on, you see him running by people. Definitely excited to add him to the mix.”
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If the Patriots are going to get back on track, they need to fix their offense. A big reason why the group failed was due to the team’s lack of offensive weapons, pass protection, and of course, the quarterback situation after Tom Brady.
Wolf believes he has the Patriots on the right track after drafting quarterback Drake Maye in the first round and pairing him with Polk in Round 2 and tackle Caedan Wallace in Round 3. For the Patriots, much is riding on these picks, but other than Maye working out, the team desperately needs a capable offensive weapon to emerge.
That’s where Polk comes in. Had the Patriots hit on their last second-round receiver, Thornton, maybe they wouldn’t be in this position. The same could be said had the team drafted A.J. Brown instead of Harry in 2019.
Wolf’s banking on a new scouting system, which he learned in Green Bay. While he was with the Packers, the team had plenty of success drafting and developing receivers.
From 2004-2017, the Packers weren’t perfect with every receiver they drafted. However, in that timeframe, the team did hit on Greg Jennings (Round 2 in 2006), Jordy Nelson (Round 2 in 2008), Randall Cobb (Round 2 in 2011), and Devante Adams (Round 2 in 2014).
That’s an impressive second-round haul. The Packers ability to draft and develop receivers went a long way to helping their offense and quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
The Patriots entered this 2024 NFL Draft with a major need at receiver, especially at outside receiver. However, Wolf explained that in the Packer system, they didn’t focus on specific receiver positions. Instead, the focus was on ability.
“The system that I come from, we don’t talk much about X, Z, slot,” Wolf said. “We just try to add really good receivers and it would end up working out for us. We feel like (Polk)’s a guy that can play all the positions.”
Polk’s a 6-foot-1, 203-pound versatile receiver. He can play outside the numbers and in the slot. That’s similar to Kendrick Bourne, K.J. Osborn, and JuJu Smith-Schuster on the roster. Last season, Polk was a reliable target at Washington and finished with 69 catches for 1,159 yards with nine touchdowns.
The Patriots had a good scouting report on Polk after hiring Washington quality control coach Tyler Hughes to be their receivers coach. Wolf said that the team only grew fonder of Polk during the pre-draft process.
“We spent time with Ja’Lynn at the Senior Bowl, at the Combine,” Wolf said. “Didn’t bring him in for a visit because there were really no other questions that we had about him.”
After drafting Maye in the first round, there were reports that the Patriots explored trading up in the backend of Round 1. Instead, they started Friday with the second pick in Round 2.
Wolf admitted that Polk was the target all along. Had the Patriots stayed at No. 34, the Washington receiver would’ve been the pick. Instead, the Patriots traded down three spots while the Los Angeles Chargers drafted receiver Ladd McConkey.
“We felt like Polk was the player we were going to pick at 34,” Wolf said. “We felt based on some of the intel we had from other teams that we would be able to trade back a little bit and still get him.”
After being drafted by the Patriots, Polk said the Patriots were getting “a beast.” He said he was eager to come to New England to learn, work hard, grow, and show everyone he’s a great player.
“I’m excited to be able to show the world what I can do again,” Polk said. “And go help this team win games.”
That would be a welcomed change from most of the past Patriots second-round receivers.
