Trading Ja'Lynn Polk highlights a disastrous 2024 NFL Draft for Patriots
Ja'Lynn Polk won't get a second season with the New England Patriots, making the wide receiver one of the biggest NFL Draft misses in franchise history.
The Patriots traded Polk to the Saints on Saturday, reportedly sending the receiver and a 2028 seventh-round pick to New Orleans while receiving a 2027 sixth-round pick in return, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic. The Patriots drafted Polk in the second round, 37th overall, just over a year ago.
"I wish him the best," Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said of Polk ahead of New England's Week 2 game against the Miami Dolphins. "He worked extremely hard to get back and then was re-injured. We were going to be without Ja'Lynn this year anyways, and we felt like what was best was to kind of give him a fresh start."
He joins a long list of Patriots receiver draft busts, which includes the likes of N'Keal Harry (first round, 2019), Tyquan Thornton (second round, 2022), Aaron Dobson (second round, 2013), Taylor Price (third round, 2010), and Chad Jackson (second round, 2006). Saturday's trade highlights an almost disastrous 2024 NFL Draft for the Patriots, the latest in a long line of drafts that didn't net much of anything for New England.
Ja'Lynn Polk's short Patriots career
Polk came to New England with plenty of hype after a solid career in Washington. But he was never able to catch on in the Patriots offense, and finished with just 12 receptions for 87 yards and two touchdowns over 15 games in 2024.
Polk famously said he had the best hands in the NFL while he struggled early in his rookie season. He had nine catches and a touchdown over the first five weeks, but then had just three catches for 13 yards the rest of the season. He saw his playing time get cut in half by mid-October, and was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury ahead of Week 18.
Polk underwent offseason shoulder surgery and was fighting for his roster spot in training camp, but suffered another shoulder injury during New England's first preseason game. He is currently on season-ending IR.
Patriots whiff in 2024 NFL Draft
With Polk now out of the picture, the Patriots have just two members of their eight-player 2024 draft class on the active roster: quarterback Drake Maye and offensive lineman Caedan Wallace. Offensive guard Layden Robinson and depth corner Marcellas Dial are on injured reserve.
While the Patriots hope to have their franchise QB in Maye, Eliot Wolf and company pretty much whiffed on every other selection in 2024. Wallace, who was taken in the fourth round, is just a depth piece along the offensive line.
The Patriots missed badly on Polk, and to make matters worse, the team passed on the chance to draft receiver Ladd McConkey, who had 82 receptions for 1,1149 yards and seven touchdowns in his rookie season for the L.A. Chargers. The Patriots traded down from the No. 34 pick, where the Chargers took McConkey, and took Polk at No. 37.
The Patriots also drafted receiver Javon Baker with a pick acquired in the McConkey trade (fourth round, No. 110 overall) and he's also already off the New England roster. Baker had just one reception as a rookie, and was released after initially making the 53-man roster in 2025. He's now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles' practice squad.
Quarterback Joe Milton (taken in the sixth round) was traded to the Dallas Cowboys over the offseason and tight end Jaheim Bell (seventh round) was released ahead of the season.
The Patriots have suffered through years of poor drafting, with the 2022 NFL Draft potentially one of the worst ever by an NFL franchise. If Maye doesn't end up panning out for New England, the team's 2024 draft class cab also be thrown onto that pile.