Polk was a favorite among coaches and his teammates. A hard worker who excels to making plays at all three levels of the field. Burst onto the scene the last two years catching 110 passes for 1,853 yards and 15 touchdowns. Polk is not an elite level athlete by any means but he has good hands, runs great routes and knows how to get on the same page with his quarterback.
Here is my scouting report on Ja’Lynn Polk.
Ja’Lynn Polk, WR, 6-1 203, Washington
Hands: Consistent hands. Does a good job of tracking the ball and catching it over his shoulder. Smooth, fluid catcher of the ball. Doesn’t fight it. Can track it over the top in contested catch situations.
Patterns: Good route runner who does a good job of setting up his route breaks with head fakes and body position. Gets in and out of breaks cleanly but he needs to do a better job of separating. Corners tend to stick to his hip as he struggles to stack them at times.
Receive Long & Short: A three level threat who is most effective in the red zone. Has proven that he can consistently beat man to man coverage short, in the middle of the field and over the top.
Run After Catch: Picks up yards but he is not a home run threat who can take it the distance. Lacks the playmaking shake in space to make defenders miss.
Blocker: Competes but needs to be better fundamentally. He does not sustain blocks and he tends to give up a side and defenders take advantage of that.
Release: Uses his entire frame to create separation on his release. Struggles at times to free up against press corners who gets their hands on him. Needs to work on getting back on track if he gets re-routed.
React to Ball/Crowd: Competes but doesn’t always high point the ball and doesn’t make the plays who could make in the middle of the field.
Initial Quicks: Average separation quickness. Doesn’t stack defenders consistently and that tends to be a problem down the field.
Final Report: Polk has the physical skill set to be a number two receiver and complement a good X receiver. He runs good routes and has good hands. Polk is also tough, which adds to his game. He does have some physical limitations but he would be a good scheme fit in the west coast offense. Polk is a player that would complement what the Patriots have well.
Draft Range: 2nd-4th Round