The Patriots drafted wide receivers in the second and fourth rounds last year, Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, and didn’t get much out of either of them. That’s not surprising, given the team’s remarkable history of misfires at the position.
New England in the 32-team era have drafted 22 wide receivers. None of those guys put up top-60 numbers in their first season (using PPR scoring).
| NEW ENGLAND'S DRAFTED WIDE RECEIVERS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Pk | Tgt | No | Yds | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2019 | N'Keal Harry | 32 | 24 | 12 | 105 | 2 | 39.4 | 124 |
| 2006 | Chad Jackson | 36 | 19 | 13 | 152 | 3 | 48.4 | 105 |
| 2024 | Ja'Lynn Polk | 37 | 33 | 12 | 87 | 2 | 32.7 | 129 |
| 2003 | Bethel Johnson | 45 | 34 | 16 | 209 | 2 | 53.7 | 96 |
| 2022 | Tyquan Thornton | 50 | 45 | 22 | 247 | 2 | 66.3 | 98 |
| 2013 | Aaron Dobson | 59 | 72 | 37 | 519 | 4 | 112.9 | 61 |
| 2002 | Deion Branch | 65 | 68 | 43 | 489 | 2 | 103.9 | 68 |
| 2009 | Brandon Tate | 83 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 | 173 |
| 2010 | Taylor Price | 90 | 4 | 3 | 41 | 0 | 7.1 | 163 |
| 2013 | Josh Boyce | 102 | 19 | 9 | 121 | 0 | 21.1 | 134 |
| 2024 | Javon Baker | 110 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 2.2 | 203 |
| 2016 | Malcolm Mitchell | 112 | 48 | 32 | 401 | 4 | 96.1 | 82 |
| 2008 | Matt Slater | 153 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | -- |
| 2004 | P.K. Sam | 164 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | -- |
| 2023 | Kayshon Boutte | 187 | 7 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 3.9 | 193 |
| 2023 | DeMario Douglas | 210 | 78 | 49 | 561 | 0 | 109.2 | 64 |
| 2018 | Braxton Berrios | 210 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | -- |
| 2016 | Devin Lucien | 225 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | -- |
| 2009 | Julian Edelman | 232 | 54 | 37 | 359 | 1 | 79.4 | 83 |
| 2012 | Jeremy Ebert | 235 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | -- |
| 2002 | David Givens | 244 | 15 | 9 | 92 | 1 | 24.2 | 127 |
| 2014 | Jeremy Gallon | 244 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | -- |
The Patriots since 2002 have selected eight wide receivers with first- or second-round picks, but haven’t gotten much out of them. Deion Branch (selected in 2002) was a Super Bowl MVP, but none of the last seven other such picks have done much at the pro level.
The Patriots have done better with their less-heralded picks. Julian Edelman developed into a great slot receiver. DeMario Douglas has had some success his first two seasons. Jakobi Meyers has had a great career (but isn’t listed above because he wasn’t even drafted).
So Polk (pictured) and Baker so far are fitting in just fine with this group. Baker as a rookie hardly played, catching 1 pass for 4 yards. Polk, meanwhile, caught only 12 of the 33 passes thrown his way, and for only 87 yards. He scored 2 TDs, but he also dropped 4 passes, slipping into a diminished role as the season progressed.
Playing around with the numbers, Polk averaged only 2.6 yards per pass play last year (that’s including both catches and incompletions). There have been 195 other wide receivers drafted in the first two round in the last quarter century who’ve seen at least 20 targets in their first season, and all of them averaged at least a half yard more per play than Polk.
That’s not good. But before we throw Polk onto the scrap pile with Bethel Johnson, Chad Jackson and Tyquan Thornton, I will in fairness point out that a surprising number of similarly lousy rookie receivers have been able to salvage their careers.
Below see the rundown of the 30 worst receivers using that metric (yards per play, with a minimum of 20 targets). Fourteen of those receivers (tagged with dots) were able to put together at least one top-40 season in their career (using PPR scoring). Five had at least one top-20 season (double dots, with Chad Ochocinco leading the way).
In the chart below, the final column shows the ranking of the player in the best season of his career.
Earlier in the week, we were kicking around possibilities for bottom-of-the-roster spots in dynasty leagues. The assumption was 25-man rosters and 12 teams. I suppose that means 300 players total, and I’m not sure if those numbers would include defenses and kickers. In such as league, we’d be talking about 9-10 players per NFL franchise.
The chart below indicates that Polk, underwhelming as he’s been those far, probably merits one of those final 300 roster spots. While it doesn’t seem like it will happen, he’s still basically the same guy everyone felt was a second-round pick last year. Maybe he’s sparked by some combination of a new offense and a better command of what’s going on.
I remember Polk catching a 29-yard pass at Washington in the preseason last year, and I was wondering at that time if he might be the team’s best receiver. And I remember him being unlucky on a possible 12-yard touchdown to win the Miami game, just failing to get his feet in.
In the chart below, you’re looking at the 30 worst since 200, ranked by yards per target.
| SLOW-STARTING ROOKIE RECEIVERS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Pk | Tgt | No | Yards | YPT | TD | Best |
| 2024 | Ja'Lynn Polk, N.E. | 37 | 33 | 12 | 87 | 2.6 | 2 | 129 |
| 2009 | • Darrius Heyward-Bey, Oak. | 7 | 40 | 9 | 124 | 3.1 | 1 | 28 |
| 2021 | Dee Eskridge, Sea. | 56 | 20 | 10 | 64 | 3.2 | 1 | 146 |
| 2008 | James Hardy, Buff. | 41 | 24 | 9 | 87 | 3.6 | 2 | 124 |
| 2015 | Devin Smith, NYJ | 37 | 28 | 9 | 115 | 4.1 | 1 | 142 |
| 2017 | •• Mike Williams, LAC | 7 | 23 | 11 | 95 | 4.1 | 0 | 13 |
| 2000 | •• Plaxico Burress, Pitt. | 8 | 65 | 22 | 273 | 4.2 | 0 | 11 |
| 2017 | • Zay Jones, Buff. | 37 | 74 | 27 | 316 | 4.3 | 2 | 26 |
| 2019 | N'Keal Harry, N.E. | 32 | 24 | 12 | 105 | 4.4 | 2 | 98 |
| 2017 | • Curtis Samuel, Car. | 40 | 26 | 15 | 115 | 4.4 | 0 | 24 |
| 2008 | Devin Thomas, Was. | 34 | 27 | 15 | 120 | 4.4 | 0 | 89 |
| 2000 | R. Jay Soward, Jac. | 29 | 34 | 14 | 154 | 4.5 | 1 | 102 |
| 2021 | Terrace Marshall, Car. | 59 | 30 | 17 | 138 | 4.6 | 0 | 88 |
| 2003 | Charles Rogers, Det. | 2 | 52 | 22 | 243 | 4.7 | 3 | 88 |
| 2000 | •• Peter Warrick, Cin. | 4 | 126 | 51 | 592 | 4.7 | 4 | 16 |
| 2002 | • Reche Caldwell, S.D. | 48 | 43 | 22 | 208 | 4.8 | 3 | 34 |
| 2011 | Jonathan Baldwin, K.C. | 26 | 52 | 21 | 254 | 4.9 | 1 | 101 |
| 2023 | Jonathan Mingo, Car. | 39 | 85 | 43 | 418 | 4.9 | 0 | 81 |
| 2004 | • Reggie Williams, Jac. | 9 | 54 | 27 | 268 | 5.0 | 1 | 35 |
| 2000 | • Travis Taylor, Balt. | 10 | 54 | 28 | 276 | 5.1 | 3 | 25 |
| 2000 | • Dennis Northcutt, Cle. | 32 | 82 | 39 | 422 | 5.1 | 0 | 38 |
| 2019 | Parris Campbell, Ind. | 59 | 24 | 18 | 127 | 5.3 | 1 | 48 |
| 2009 | Brian Robiskie, Cle. | 36 | 20 | 7 | 106 | 5.3 | 0 | 86 |
| 2000 | • Todd Pinkston, Phil. | 36 | 34 | 10 | 181 | 5.3 | 0 | 29 |
| 2012 | Stephen Hill, NYJ | 43 | 47 | 21 | 252 | 5.4 | 3 | 97 |
| 2005 | • Mark Clayton, Balt. | 22 | 87 | 44 | 471 | 5.4 | 2 | 25 |
| 2018 | •• DJ Chark, Jac. | 61 | 32 | 14 | 174 | 5.4 | 0 | 18 |
| 2001 | •• Chad Johnson, Cin. | 36 | 60 | 28 | 329 | 5.5 | 1 | 3 |
| 2022 | Tyquan Thornton, N.E. | 50 | 45 | 22 | 247 | 5.5 | 2 | 98 |
| 2007 | Craig Davis, S.D. | 30 | 34 | 20 | 188 | 5.5 | 1 | 106 |
—Ian Allan