New England Patriots - NESN.com
When the New England Patriots selected Ja’Lynn Polk in the second round of last year’s NFL Draft, they viewed him as a plug-and-play type of player.
It didn’t come remotely close to turning out that way, though.
Polk struggled mightily and didn’t help himself with the proclamation that he had the “best hands in the league,” which he couldn’t back up on the field. He caught just 12 passes on 37 targets for 87 yards with two touchdowns.
Like he did for the season as a whole, Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf shouldered some of the blame for Polk’s ineffectiveness.
“He was a young player that came in, and he’s mature, he’s smart. I think organizationally we maybe put too much on his plate early, and I think that really kind of stunted his growth a little bit,” Wolf told reporters Wednesday from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, per team-provided video. “And he’s aware of that, and we’ve talked about it. And he’s going to continue to work hard and rehab and do the things that are necessary to improve.”
That’s a different tune from Wolf than the one he presented at the end of the regular season. Wolf appeared to point the finger at Jerod Mayo and the Patriots coaching staff for Polk not coming along like they had imagined.
“I would say that I guess personally, what I was expecting maybe a little bit more internal development, which is a good lesson certainly heading into next year, and that you can’t always rely on that,” Wolf told FOX Sports’ Henry McKenna. “The rookie receivers didn’t have it really that much for us.”
Polk has the makings of another draft bust at the wide receiver position for New England, but the Patriots aren’t ready to give up on him yet. Or anyone really from last season’s lackluster rookie class.
“When you do watch practice and you do talk to these guys, they’re the right kind of people,” Wolf said. “They work hard, they are talented. And sometimes for whatever reason, rookies just aren’t ready to go. Again, it’s not a guarantee but we’re hopeful they’ll continue working and get to be productive players for our team.”
