McConkey’s success underscores Polk’s first-year failure

One of the many hallmarks of Bill Belichick’s tenure as head coach and de facto general manager of the Patriots was his tendency to back down during the NFL Draft.

Whether it was trading his late first-round pick for a third-day extra pick or just moving down a few spots the following season to get more bites at the apple, it felt always felt like Belichick was playing chess against himself when it came to his draft day maneuver.

We’re not delving deeply into Belichick’s draft record at this time – that’s another column for another day (preferably during draft season). But one thing we can say for sure without completely giving it away: Belichick has had difficulty recruiting talent at the receiver position throughout his tenure.

When New England fell from 34th to 37th overall in the second round of this spring’s NFL Draft against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Spider-Man memes were justified.

And when it emerged that the Chargers were getting Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey at 34 and the Patriots were getting Washington wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk at 37, the fan base felt a collective struggle with PTSD, hoping and praying that the Organization had done this Not only N’Keal Harry met himself again.

Unfortunately for the Foxborough Faithful, early returns are trending in exactly the same direction.

Change trainers. Change the decision makers on draft day. Get the same result.

You really can’t make this up.

In this situation, Polk takes on the role of Harry, who was a complete disappointment in his first year after a promising training camp and preseason.

Polk has appeared in 14 of his team’s 15 games this season and has just 12 catches on 32 targets for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns.

In December alone, Polk recorded 0 catches on 2 targets. And in the Week 16 loss at Buffalo, he played a season-low three snaps on offense.

Make no mistake – Polk’s rookie season was an absolute disaster.

Despite his follies, Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt told the media before Thursday’s practice that he still believes in the 22-year-old receiver’s continued development.

“Yeah, it’s tough,” Van Pelt said. “Like I said with (Polk), you know as a first-year rookie you don’t always break through. It takes some time to get used to the professional game.

“You know, again – great confidence in Polk, also in (Javon) Baker. I’m excited to get these guys up and running. If we can get it done this year, that will be great. If not, know that having an offseason in hand will help them learn this system. You know, sometimes things don’t go your way, you just have to pull yourself out of it, and that’s what we’re going to continue to promote with Polk. But I’m not disappointed in him at all.”

Later in the press conference, Van Pelt was asked if Polk and fellow rookie Javon Baker should look to second-year receiver Kayshon Boutte as an example of what a jump into year two can look like, given where Boutte is after his Rookie season was and where he is now.

“Absolutely,” Van Pelt said. “And that’s what it’s all about. I mean, these guys – you know, I don’t look at them at all as one-year players. I mean, they’re here to grow and develop within our system and I expect those guys to come in and help us a lot next year.”

For more context on Boutte’s competition: After going as high as the sixth round in the 2023 NFL Draft, the former LSU star managed just two catches on seven targets in five appearances in his rookie season. Many wondered if Boutte would even make the roster during training camp earlier this season, as the receiving room seemed crowded at the time.

In addition to making the team, the 22-year-old is now second among Patriots receivers this season in catches, targets, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and leads the team in yards per catch (13.9 YPC ).

His yards per catch mark is actually good for 18th best in the entire NFL, tied with Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs, and….

…McConkey.

If I can use the N’Keal Harry analogy for a moment, McConkey is currently playing the Deebo Samuel/AJ Brown/DK Metcalf/Terry McLaurin role (what a disastrous choice that was in 2019).

The Chargers’ rookie led his team with six catches for 87 yards in Los Angeles’ Thursday night win over the Broncos in Week 16, giving him at least 50 receiving yards in eight straight games. This is the longest such winning streak by a rookie since Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014.

In 14 games of action, McConkey recorded 69 catches on 94 targets for 960 yards and 5 touchdowns, ranking ninth among all NFL pass catchers and second among rookie pass catchers behind Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.

Worst of all, Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo told the media before Thursday’s practice that the team had “done some work on him” before the draft.

Although the team did its due diligence on McConkey, it decided to move down to acquire Polk – Washington’s No. 2 receiver during their second National Championship season in 2023.

At the moment it looks like 2019 again.

“(McConkey is) a guy who can provide open coverage versus man-to-man coverage,” Mayo said. “And look, he’s playing well right now. He also does a good job of finding space in zone coverage and is definitely a player to keep an eye on here.”

Asked if the team decided not to sign McConkey because it didn’t have a specific need at the slot receiver position, Mayo said: “Overall, I would say we’re always trying to improve our roster. “ Well, what position that is right now could change daily in these times.

“Look – we have the guys we have here and our focus is just on this game.”

While that may be an understandable opinion from Mayo, you can’t blame Patriots fans for looking in the rearview mirror on Saturday and wondering if their favorite team got the wrong guy at wideout – once again.

New England is currently a 4-point underdog against Los Angeles, with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium.