Patriots rookie Ja'Lynn Polk has hit a roadblock

Few things in the NFL can be as deceptive as training camp performance. Time and time again, it seemed as if players or entire teams showed one thing over the course of the summer, only to look completely different when the games counted.

New England Patriots wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk is a perfect and unfortunate example of this. After being a regular with the starters in training camp, the second-round draft pick appeared ready for a major role in the team's offense.

Entering his rookie season, this appeared to be the case as well: Polk continued to see starter-level reps and found himself at the top of the Patriots' wide receiver depth chart in terms of playing time by Week 4.

Since then, however, things have gone downhill for the young pass catcher.

From Week 4 onwards, Polk was the target of 20 passes. Only five of those resulted in receptions for a total of 47 yards. Meanwhile, a pass hit his hands four times but still ended incomplete – including twice on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

This game in particular seemed to be a low point in Polk's once-promising rookie season so far. As a nominal third wide receiver, he played 57 percent of the snaps but did not hit any of his four targets.

Polk was hit in the hands on a deep pass on the game's first drive but was unable to complete the catch through contact; The same was true on a 3rd-and-10 in the second quarter (the play immediately before Jacksonville's 96-yard punt return touchdown). He was heavily covered for an incompletion in the third period and later slipped while running a whip route on a two-point conversion attempt in the fourth period.

This play was the last of Polk's day. Shortly afterwards it was declared that his return was questionable due to a head injury and he never emerged again.

And so both Polk and the Patriots face an overarching question: What can be done to get him back on track and save him from a fate that has befallen several second-round wide receivers before him?

“We need more from Polk. We need more concentration. He will be a good player in this league. I just have to keep working at it,” head coach Jerod Mayo said after the Patriots’ 32-16 loss to the Jaguars.

“I have to remind him that he is a young football player. I don't use that as an excuse. This is not the final iteration or evolution of Ja'Lynn Polk. He just needs to get back in the meeting rooms, back on the field and get better.”

Drake Maye expressed similar optimism about his fellow rookie. Even though New England's starting quarterback only touched him once on seven goals, including this two-point play, he believes the two can have a positive future together.

To make this happen, Maye also points to herself.

“I think JP is a great player. He makes plays,” he said. “I have to find ways to get him the football early. Get him involved early on will help him feel included. I have to make a better throw to him on the corner route, first drive, little things like that to get him involved. He is a good player. We need him out there. It's up to me to get him going somehow.

“Throughout the week he always asks me to watch movies and stuff like that. He is always there after training. I have to do more. Whatever we do, do more.”

Whether or not this approach will pay off at some point in the future remains to be seen. But the fact is that Polk is hitting a roadblock after showing promise early in his rookie season.

Now the pressure is on him and his Patriots support system to get him back up to speed.