Ja'Lynn

Polk

There’s no reason to panic with Polk after one game. Rookie receivers tend to start slow and come on late in the season. That’s even more likely to happen with Polk, who should be catching passes from Drake Maye later this year. Polk played a decent number of snaps (35) and ran 18 routes. There’s plenty of time for the targets and production to come, but it wasn’t there on Sunday. Polk is not a recommended play for Week 2 against the Seahawks at home.

Demario Douglas and Ja’Lynn Polk are the other two receivers running with the top unit. This report understandably has some caveats. Kyed noted that K.J. Osborn will still be in the mix and Kendrick Bourne will likely be a starter once he comes off the PUP list. Still, it’s a good sign for Thornton coming off a disastrous second season. He went for 91 scoreless yards on 13 receptions in 2023. Thornton is still off the redraft radar but dynasty managers can hold onto him for a little longer.

Polk made a highlight-reel grab where he stutter-stepped two different Eagles, but the stat sheet was quiet despite time with both Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye. Polk’s time with the starters was admittedly brief, while Pro Football Focus’ Nathan Jahnke charted him behind K.J. Osborn. Polk was the second-team slot man behind Pop Douglas. Polk keeps flashing this summer, but it’s thus far not translating to depth chart climbing.

After just one year into a three-year, $25.5 million contract, Smith-Schuster and the Patriots are headed for a split. The veteran receiver made little impact in his lone season with the team, catching 29 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown in 11 games while averaging 9.0 YPR — the second-lowest mark of his career. Smith-Schuster was reported “100 percent healthy” entering OTAs after dealing with a nagging knee injury for the last several years but was listed behind DeMario Douglas on the team’s unofficial depth chart. Rookie receiver Ja’Lynn Polk was also threatening Smith-Schuster for playing time, likely leaving him on the outside looking in for playing time. Cutting him will cost the Patriots just over $9 million in dead cap space this season, but this move doesn’t come as much of a surprise with the new regime now in place. At 28 years old, Smith-Schuster will likely catch on with another team in the coming days but will be hard to rely on for fantasy purposes in most landing spots.

However, the No. 37 overall pick was in on the second drive with fellow rookie Drake Maye. He caught three balls, one of which was a sure-handed grab that got the Twitter GIF mafia fired up. The Pats seem intent on making Polk jump through a few hoops to earn his starting stripes, but that remains well attainable in this talent-deficient offense.

Graff notes that this may be dependent on whether or not Kendrick Bourne (knee) needs more time to recover from his torn ACL. However, he also says Polk was “a steady, reliable target in minicamp” as the rookie worked in more with the first-team offense. The Patriots drafted Polk with the No. 37 overall pick in this year’s draft. The former Washington Husky totaled 69 receptions for 1,159 and nine touchdowns in his final college season, and while it sounds like his impact in 2024 is somewhat contingent on when Bourne returns, it’s worth noting that the Patriots have one of the worst receiver rooms in the league. It’s possible Polk will show enough in camp to earn a significant role regardless of Bourne’s availability, which could set the stage for a strong rookie season. With that said, expectations should be tempered, as the Patriots have a long way to go before becoming a high-end offense for fantasy purposes.

According to HC Jimmy Lake, Polk (6'2/200) suffered the injury on the first play of Washington’s home loss to Montana Saturday night. The freshman, who transferred to Washington from Texas Tech in February, underwent emergency surgery to address the issue. Polk is, according to Lake, in good spirits post-surgery, but the earliest he’ll be able to return is ahead of the Huskies’ bowl game.

Polk (6'2/190) entered his name into the transfer portal on January 24, and on National Signing Day his move to Washington was made official. The freshman from Lufkin, Texas had a solid 2020 campaign, as he appeared in ten games and caught 28 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. Polk will have five years to complete four seasons of eligibility, and it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to play this fall. The NCAA still hasn’t passed the waiver that would make all first-time transfer eligible immediately.

Polk (6'2/185) will be getting this one in right under the gun of the summer dead period, which begins on June 23. Beyond the Red Raiders, Arkansas, Arizona and Baylor all made the wideout’s top-four cut. He trekked out to Arkansas for an official visit in April. On the 247Sports composite board, Polk lands as the No. 404 overall prospect in the 2020 class.

Polk (6'2/185) is a four-star by Rivals’ standards but is only a three-star in 247Sports’ composite rankings. He recorded a 4.65-second 40-yard dash and a 35.4-inch vertical at The Opening Regional in March. Polk chose Texas Tech over Arkansas, Arizona, and Baylor among others. The Red Raiders picked up a whopping six commitments on Saturday, leaving them with 10 for their 2020 recruiting class which now ranks 52nd in the country.