5 Patriots Leaving New England in the New Year

After drafting Maye, the Patriots’ top priority was to surround him with reliable weapons. It looked like they had found their new franchise QB the perfect threat to play alongside when they selected wideout Ja’Lynn Polk just 34 picks later.

The 22-year-old playmaker displayed a ton of potential in his final year with the Washington Huskies, amassing 1,159 receiving yards and nine TDs on 69 catches. Even if achieving similar results at the NFL level wouldn’t be easy, hopeful New England fans felt optimistic about Polk’s rookie year.

Week 18 is here and it’s safe to say that there’s been more bad than good during Polk’s first taste of NFL action. The rookie playmaker has only caught 12-of-33 targets (36.4%) for 87 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 15 games. His performance has only worsened with each passing week, proven by his only having one catch for seven yards in his last six outings.

Not every rookie has immediate NFL success, but it looks like the Patriots made a big mistake by drafting Polk 37th overall in April. He’s one of the team’s most unreliable targets and generates next-to-zero production whenever the ball’s in his hands. It’s just hard to imagine him making much of an improvement when he hasn’t recorded double-digit yards since Week 5.

If an outside team still believes in Polk’s potential and is willing to pay a fair price for his services, the Patriots might be open to trading the struggling receiver this offseason.