Patriots Grab Their First WR of the 2024 Draft, Snag Washington’s Polk
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With the #37 pick, the New England Patriots ended up adding a big target for new quarterback Drake Maye on Friday night, with the club selecting Washington receiver Ja’Lynn Polk.
Polk is a big-bodied receiver who comes in at 6’2″, 204 pounds and he was a solid player for Washington in 2023 during their run to the National Championship game against Michigan. He caught 69 passes for 1,159 yards and 9 touchdowns, while averaging 16.8 yards per reception.
Those stats put him among the leaders last year. His yardage total was the 8th highest total in college football last season, while his catch total was the 6th highest in 2023.
Looking at his film, he’s got pretty good quickness and good acceleration, especially when he gets in the open field. He’s also got really good concentration and is strong making contested catches, and he’s tougher than he appears. He had one reception in his film where he went up to make a grab and took an unbelievable shot as he came down yet still held onto the football. He also has made a habit of making some impressive leaping grabs multiple times throughout his career.
One other thing that stood out is the fact Polk also has really good concentration, snatching a couple of errant throws by Michael Penix Jr. that were tipped, yet Polk snatched them out of the air and took off with them.
A final thing to note is he’s a guy with great hands, often extending and hauling in the football with both hands and does a good job of going up and over whoever he’s going against. He’s also solid blocking in the run game, which, as we know, is important here in New England.
Some additional analysis from Dane Brugler of TheAthletic, who had this to say about Polk’s strengths:
“Owns decent size and length, and he makes himself a sizable target,” wrote Brugler. “Above-average focus and naturally tracks the ball over his shoulder on fades and bucket throws … routinely bails out the quarterback with his full-extension adjustments to the ball in flight … runs well with speed releases versus press and the acceleration to stack and get on top of coverage … not afraid to work over the middle and shows urgency in the quick game … you’ll love his mentality as a blocker (had several key blocks on Rome Odunze’s punt-return touchdown against Cal in 2023) … Washington coaching staff speaks highly of his work ethic and daily approach, in both practices and games (head coach Kalen DeBoer: “J.P. is one of the toughest and strongest kids we have on the football team.”) … experienced lining up across the formation … stepped up his production in 2023.”
The selection of Polk happened following a trade by the Patriots. New England initially held the second pick of round two (#34 overall), but ended up making a deal with the Chargers to trade back three slots to #37, while moving up 27 spots from #137 overall (Round 5) to #110 (Round 4).
The Chargers ended up taking Georgia wideout Ladd McConkey, while New England ended up with Polk.
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