Ja'Lynn Polk (born April 11, 2002) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, finishing as the runner-up with the latter in the 2024 national championship. Polk was drafted 37th overall in the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

by the Patriots.

Early life

Polk attended

Lufkin High School Lufkin High School is a public high school located in Lufkin, Texas and is classified as a 5A school by the University Interscholastic League. It is part of the Lufkin Independent School District that serves the Lufkin area and central Angelin ...

Lufkin, Texas Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas, United States and is the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and is west of the Texas- Louisiana state line. Its population is 34,143 as of 2020. Lufkin was founded in 188 ...

. During his career, he had 131 receptions for 2,412 yards and 24 touchdowns. He committed to

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

to play college football.

College career

Polk played at Texas Tech for one season in 2020, starting seven of 10 games, recording 28 receptions for 264 yards and two touchdowns. In 2021, he transferred to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. He played in only three games with two starts his first year at Washington due to injury and finished with five receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown. Polk spent 2022 as the team's third receiver behind Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan. He finished the year with 41 receptions for 694 yards and six touchdowns. He returned to Washington in 2023. In the 2023 season, he had seven games with over 100 receiving yards. In the College Football Playoffs Semifinal against Texas, he had five receptions for 122 yards in the 37–31 win. He finished with 69 receptions for 1,159 yards and nine touchdowns. After the 2024

CFP National Championship The College Football Playoff National Championship is a post-season college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which began play in the 2014 college football season. ...

, Polk declared for the NFL Draft.

Professional career

Polk was selected by the

with the 37th overall pick in second round of the

. On June 13, 2024, Polk signed his four-year rookie contract worth $9.7 million, with a $3.87 million signing bonus. In the first quarter of Week 2 against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, Polk scored his first NFL touchdown on a five-yard pass from

Jacoby Brissett Jacoby JaJuan Brissett (born December 11, 1992) is an American professional football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with the Florida Gators, he played college football for the NC Sta ...

in the 20–23

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

loss. As a rookie, Polk appeared in 15 games and started seven. He finished with 12 receptions for 87 yards and two touchdowns.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

New England Patriots bioWashington Huskies bioTexas Tech Red Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, JaLynn Living people 2002 births People from Angelina County, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football wide receivers Texas Tech Red Raiders football players Washington Huskies football players New England Patriots players