New England Patriots WR Ja’Lynn Polk joins an offense that is in the middle of a rebuild. While that means the franchise is unlikely to experience much success this season, it does open up the opportunity for them to give their prospects some serious usage.
Should fantasy football managers be looking to stash Polk, understanding that his best days as a rookie are likely to come down the stretch?
Should You Select Ja’Lynn Polk at His Current ADP?
ADP: 192nd Overall (WR70)
Polk put up 1,159 yards and nine scores at Washington last season, impressive numbers at face value and downright remarkable when you consider that he did so alongside Rome Odunze. I don’t have many questions about what Polk is capable of, but I have a ton of questions about the number of opportunities this offense will afford him.
Consider this: DeMario Douglas ranked 78th in the NFL in receiving yards last season, 142 yards clear of any other Patriots target.
There’s no such thing as a bad final pick in your draft, and if you want to bet on the talent, go for it. I do think Douglas has a better chance at working himself into the weekly Flex discussion, and he owns a similar ADP. The same goes for Ray Davis (Buffalo Bills) and even Roman Wilson (Pittsburgh Steelers).
Polk is a very interesting dynasty play, given his ability to develop alongside (hopefully) the team’s franchise quarterback. Generally speaking, I love doubling down on an offense that goes with a youth movement, especially when their short-term is underwhelming.
No one is expecting big things from the Patriots this season, but if the foundation they built in the 2024 NFL Draft sticks, the Drake Maye/Polk tandem could impact fantasy leagues down the road in a significant way.
Polk’s Fantasy Profile for the 2024 NFL Season
Investing in the Patriots’ offense is not for the faint of heart — it’s really that simple. Who leads this team in pass attempts this season is unknown. Kendrick Bourne is coming off of an ACL tear in October, and New England’s presumptive target leader stands just 5’8” with zero touchdowns on his NFL résumé.
The Patriots were a bottom-five offense in any metric you want to look at from last season, and even if they make significant strides forward in 2024, they’re likely to still finish in the bottom third.
The Patriots’ one strength from a team perspective works against fantasy managers. They owned the third-best yards-per-play defense from a season ago, thus allowing them to keep games reasonably competitive and not be forced to open up their offense in a meaningful way.
Ball skills and yards after the catch — Ja’Lynn Polk can do it all 😤 pic.twitter.com/HpMOlnevvk
— College Football Network (@CFN365) April 18, 2024
Enter Polk. The 6’1” wide receiver caught the eye of Pro Football Network Draft Analyst Ian Cummings, who wrote, “incredibly fluid route runner who can stack effortless hip transitions on double moves … exciting freedom with angle manipulation … near-elite explosive capacity to create late-snap separation.”
On the surface, that profile has me sold on the talent, and for a receiver who’s not routinely drafted, checking one of the two primary boxes (talent or opportunity) is all we can hope for.