The New England Patriots passing offense feels like a complete mystery entering the 2024 NFL season. The expectations may be low for this unit, but this does create an opportunity for rookie WR Ja’Lynn Polk to potentially emerge as a viable Flex option in full-PPR leagues this year.
What can fantasy football managers realistically expect from Polk in 2024?
Ja’Lynn Polk’s 2024 Fantasy Outlook
- Total Fantasy Points: 142.6
- Receptions: 47.1
- Receiving Yards: 706.9
- Receiving TDs: 3.9
These are PFN’s consensus projections, correct as of August 15. The most up-to-date projections can be found in our Who Should I Draft Tool.
Should You Draft Polk This Year?
When assessing the potential symptoms of a fantasy sleeper, I generally have some sticking points. First, the opportunity for an expanded role must exist. Second, you want to believe the player’s talent can make the most of the expanded role. Third, you ideally want them to be playing in a high-powered offense.
To me, Polk qualifies for the first two criteria.
The Patriots’ selection of North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye at No. 3 overall certainly provides an interesting long-term fantasy outlook for Polk in New England, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Polk can’t be the focal point of this passing attack in Year 1.
Maye should see the field at some point during his rookie year, but it’s certainly possible that veteran signal-caller Jacoby Brissett could act as a bridge option under center in 2024.
In addition, Maye is a polarizing prospect entering the league. He has all the physical tools and flashes of processing that suggest he can be a quality NFL starter and has an elite upside if he manages to play up to his potential.
Yet, Maye’s accuracy, decision-making, and footwork mechanics are all pretty inconsistent at this moment, which gives him the widest range of outcomes of the top quarterback prospects in the 2024 class.
Brissett, on the other hand, has never averaged 200 yards passing per game in any of his eight years in the NFL.
Admittedly, these two options don’t inspire a ton of confidence under center for this year, which makes Polk’s immediate fantasy value a bit difficult to pinpoint.
All concerns about the QB situation aside, Polk’s fantasy opportunity to take the alpha-target-earner role in New England is certainly there. Players like DeMario Douglas, Javon Baker, and Tyquan Thorton are all that really stands in Polk’s way to becoming the Patriots’ WR1 in 2024.
Polk’s formation versatility and strong hands could make him an excellent big slot target who can destroy zone coverage. He may not possess the elite vertical speed to become Maye’s go-to guy for big shots down the field, but his run-after-catch ability and contested-catch expertise make him a threat to work the short and intermediate range of the field, which presents plenty of fantasy value.
Polk’s ADP at No. 173 overall in the 15th round as the WR78 off the board makes him an intriguing late-round dart throw in full-PPR formats. For some context, he’s currently going behind Roman Wilson, Demarcus Robinson, and Rashod Bateman. I’ll confidently go out on a limb and say that Polk will see more targets than all three of those receivers.
Polk is my one of my favorite late-round picks in fantasy drafts in 2024.