\u201cDisappointment\u201d has been the name of the game for the New England Patriots so far this season. They have experienced their fair share of it on their road to a 3-10 record, with no individual area of the team immune to struggle.<\/p>\n
As a result, there are multiple contenders for the top spot on the list of underwhelming performances. Ja\u2019Lynn Polk might have as strong a case as anybody, though.<\/p>\n
With 13 games in the books, the second-round draft pick has been a virtual non-factor for a Patriots offense in dire need of help at the wide receiver position. Polk has been targeted 30 times by quarterbacks Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett, but he managed to catch only 12 passes for 87 yards.<\/p>\n
While he did catch a pair of touchdowns \u2014 ranking second on the team in that statistic \u2014 he also dropped a pair of passes, has been the target on an interception, has managed to catch just 3 of 12 contested catches, and has just 11 yards after the catch. No one number sums his struggles up better than yards per route run, though.<\/p>\n
Running 234 routes in his 401 offensive snaps, he averaged just 0.37 yards. That number has him ranked 101st among the 101 wide receivers in the NFL with at least 30 targets to their name.<\/p>\n
The room for improvement is obvious, and the Patriots left searching for answers. For offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, a multitude of factors contributed.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be a combination of a few things,\u201d he said during a press conference on Thursday. \u201cThe transition from the college game to the pro game is never easy, for any rookie. That\u2019s part of it. The rookie wall. Not having success early, having some drops early, kind of set him back a little bit mentally. All lessons for him to fight through and keep pushing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Polk arrived in New England as the 37th overall selection in this year\u2019s draft, and was considered a potential big slot\/Z-receiver hybrid in the mold of ex-Patriot Jakobi Meyers. His hands and ability to win at the top of his routes even in contested situations were praised as his best traits coming out of the University of Washington.<\/p>\n
Despite all that and his prior experience with Patriots wide receivers coach Tyler Hughes \u2014 an offensive analyst for the Huskies in 2023 \u2014 Polk has not been able to make his presence felt. He started off well, and looked like a potential contributor in training camp, but has not been able to build on his early momentum.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, Van Pelt still feels confident in his potential.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s going to be a very good player for us,\u201d he said. \u201cHe just has to continue to work, continue to improve each week.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Patriots, who have already been eliminated from playoff contention, will give him every chance to do that down the stretch. As part of that process, the team might be willing to increase his playing time after he was on the field for a combined 47 percent of offensive snaps before the bye week.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point they just have to go and make those plays in the game,\u201d Van Pelt said about the Patriots\u2019 rookie usage in generalthe Patriots\u2019 rookie usage in general. \u201c\u201cWe see it in practice, and hopefully it carries over in the game. Every snap they take, whether it\u2019s in practice or in the game, put in the bank for them and they\u2019ll continue to grow as we talked about every day: getting better with every practice, and hopefully it carries over to the game for those young guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Polk\u2019s case, it has not so far. And with only four games left in his rookie season, time to do that and turn the ship around in 2024 is running out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The second-round rookie has been one of the biggest disappointments on the team this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":17744,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n