Drake Maye has his new No. 1 receiver.
The New England Patriots selected Washington wideout Ja’Lynn Polk with the 37th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft on Friday night.
New England initially traded back from No. 34, sending the pick and a fifth-rounder (No. 137) to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for Nos. 37 and 110. Los Angeles used the 34th pick to select another receiver, Georgia’s Ladd McConkey.
In the end, the Patriots slid back a few spots to nab their man. Polk arrives in Foxborough after racking up a career-best 1,159 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 15 games with the Huskies in 2023, helping Washington reach the College Football Playoff National Championship Game by catching five passes for 122 yards and a touchdown in the semifinal versus Texas. That explosive Huskies offense has already produced multiple picks in this draft: quarterback Michael Penix Jr. went eighth overall to Atlanta, while teammate Rome Odunze followed him in the draft order when he was chosen ninth overall by Chicago. With the Patriots’ choice, Polk becomes the second Washington receiver to be selected in the draft’s first 37 picks.
If all goes well, the 6-foot-1, 203-pound Polk will be expected to reverse an unfortunate narrative regarding receivers selected by the Patriots in the top three rounds in the last 25 years. Since 2000, none of the eight receivers selected by New England in the first three rounds have recorded a Pro Bowl season or a campaign with 1,000 receiving yards in their respective careers. Only Deion Branch — a 2002 second-round pick — was able to crack 600 yards.
That was then, though, and this is now. Bill Belichick is gone, and a new regime is in power. And after swapping pick positions in order to choose Polk and upgrade a Day 3 selection, the Pats are hoping Polk can establish a rapport with a fellow rookie in Maye, setting the two on the course toward future success. New England needs it, too, especially after its receivers finished 28th or worse in catch percentage, receiving yards per games, yards per reception and receiving touchdowns in 2023.
