While the New England Patriots won't play meaningful games for two months, they're set to return to Gillette Stadium for training camp in just a couple of weeks.
Until then, we're in the dead zone of the NFL offseason, where we're all just waiting for the action to start. We'll spend our time projecting and predicting what will happen in this upcoming season.
Pro Football Network's Dakota Randall is taking part as well, as he recently released a list of predictions about New England in 2024. One topic that he touched on is the performance of rookie wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk, who he predicts to have a 1,000-yard season.
Here's what Randall wrote:
"Ja’Lynn Polk might never develop into a No. 1 target. His ceiling might be that of a faster, more explosive Jakobi Meyers, who’s a very good player.
The second-round rookie receiver looked great during spring practices. He was surehanded, ran great routes, and just carried himself like a pro. He also was taller and faster in person than as advertised.
It’s easy to envision Polk earning a big role right away, partly because the Patriots might not have other viable options beyond DeMario Douglas. If Polk stays healthy, he could be a target hog and put up impressive numbers as a rookie."
In the 60-plus years that the Patriots have been in existence between the AFL and the NFL, they've only ever had one player eclipse 1,000 yards as a rookie - Terry Glenn in 1996.
Aaron Hernandez recorded the most of any player during the Bill Belichick era with 563 in 2010.
If New England gets that kind of impact out of Polk in his first season, they'll be ecstatic, especially considering they traded back in the second round to draft him after their attempts to grab other wide receivers fell through.
