FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Polk’s toughness: The Patriots had attempted to trade into the end of the first round of April’s NFL draft, according to multiple NFL sources, when a run of receivers started to come off the board. Texas’ Xavier Worthy went to the Chiefs at 28. Florida’s Ricky Pearsall went to the 49ers at No. 31. South Carolina’s Xavier Legette, quite possibly the Patriots’ top target, was scooped up by the Panthers in a trade up to 32. Then Florida State’s Keon Coleman went to the Bills at 33 and Georgia’s Ladd McConkey to the Chargers at 34, with the Patriots trading out of that spot to 37, where they took Washington’s Ja’Lynn Polk.
That’s six receivers in a 10-pick span, and how Polk measures up against his pass-catching peers will be among the top factors that determines the success of the franchise’s first draft under the new regime of executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and head coach Jerod Mayo.
It is too early to know which direction it will head, but as the Patriots are currently on break before their first training camp practice July 24, one thing can be decisively stated about Polk’s initial work: His toughness and relentless mentality reflected well on the culture Wolf and Mayo hope to create.
Perhaps no better example was the final play of mandatory minicamp: Fellow rookie quarterback Drake Maye lofted a back-shoulder fade to the right corner of the end zone, and the 6-foot-1, 203-pound Polk snatched it despite tight coverage from undrafted rookie cornerback Mikey Victor and maintained…
