It hasn’t exactly been a fun season for New England Patriots rookie wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk.
The Patriots selected Polk in the second round of the NFL Draft last spring, and many expected Polk to be a significant producer in the team’s aerial attack.
That certainly hasn’t happened, as the University of Washington product has recorded just 12 catches for 87 yards and a few touchdowns this year.
So what can New England do to get young people out?
Well, the Pats had an interesting idea: move Polk’s locker closer to veteran wide receiver Kendrick Bourne.
“It’s like Jacoby (Brissett) is next to Drake (Maye), the vet and the rookie, and it’s kind of the same thing here,” Bourne said, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “To be close to him, I will continue to encourage him, to talk to him about jewels, to talk to him about life. I don’t know if they’re doing it on purpose, but things happen the way they’re supposed to.
Bourne is one of the elder statesmen of the Patriots locker room, having been a member of the club since 2021.
The 29-year-old tore his ACL midway through last season and just returned to the field on October 6. Since returning to the lineup, Bourne has caught 16 passes for 170 yards and a score.
New England is in dire need of help at the wide receiver position. It was hoped that rookies Polk and Javon Baker would provide a boost to the unit, but it increasingly appears that the Pats will have to continue to reshuffle the area this offseason.
Of course, there’s still time for Polk to turn things around in 2024, and he’s still only 22 years old.
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