The Patriots drafted their QB of the future in Drake Maye on Thursday night. One day later, they select Washington WR Ja’lynn Polk, forming what they hope will be a dangerous duo for years to come. New England desperately needed WR help, as Kendrick Bourne and Demario Douglas currently sit atop the depth chart, so Polk will have a chance to play right away if he’s ready. Let’s look at the fantasy implications.
JA’LYNN POLK
Projection: 41.7 catches on 71.2 targets for 534.0 yards and 3.0 TDs
- Polk is a contested-catch specialist who thrived in a pass-happy Washington offense, exploding from 694 yards as a junior to 1,159 (and nine TDs) in 2023). Polk averaged at least 16.8 yards per catch in each of his final two seasons and ran an okay 4.52-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. He’s not going to blow you away with his speed and he’s still improving as a route-runner, but he boasts solid size at the WR position and can win at the catch point.
- This Patriots depth chart is wide open. Can Douglas build off an impressive rookie year (especially given his draft capital)? Can Bourne stay healthy and be an NFL WR1 for a whole season? Can K.J. Osborn be anything more than a WR3? Is Polk going to establish himself as the alpha right away? They still have JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton on the roster too. We’ll find out, but if Polk has the talent, he can ascend the target pecking order very quickly. The Pats’ passing offense will be a struggle in 2024 whether it’s Jacoby Brissett or Drake Maye under center with a below-average WR group and either a veteran journeyman or a rookie with a reputation for inconsistency, but the path to volume is there for Polk.
OTHER PATRIOTS PASS-CATCHERS
- As mentioned above, there are a lot of guys on this New England depth chart, and we don’t exactly know who will be on the roster come Week 1. Bourne, Douglas, and Osborn likely have an inside track compared to Smith-Schuster and Thornton after the ineffectiveness and inconsistency of the latter two in 2023, but none of them inspire much optimism. If Polk has the talent, he may be the WR1 by midseason. Still, this passing offense should be pretty bad, and maybe none of them are weekly fantasy options.
- Hunter Henry is the unquestioned TE1 in New England, but he’s held that title for a couple of years now and struggled to post big fantasy numbers. If Maye scorches Earth right away, there’s a path to relevancy for Henry, but it’s hard to see his upside case otherwise.
