Drake Maye says Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker know they need to ‘get their stuff together,’ hopeful they’ll ‘make a splash’ in 2025
"It’s my job to get them the football. But also, I think it’s their job, and they know, to get their stuff together."
Outside of Drake Maye, the 2024 season was a pretty tough year for the Patriots’ rookies. However, Maye believes a pair of players who were a part of his draft class will break out in 2025.
The Patriots quarterback pointed to Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker as two players who could step up when he was asked which player is “next up” on Chris Long’s “Green Light Podcast.”
“We brought in two rookie receivers, Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, that were feeling it out this year,” Maye said. “They both battled some injuries. Hopefully expecting one of them — if not both — to make a splash this year.”
Injuries weren’t the only thing that both receivers battled in 2024. Each struggled to receive consistent playing time due to poor play. In the case of Polk, the second-round pick had a handful of key dropped passes throughout the season. He only made things tougher for himself off the field as well, saying he has the best hands in the NFL in the midst of his struggles and making an ominous social media post after Jerod Mayo called him out following a loss.
As for Baker, the fourth-round pick hardly played, struggling to make his way up the depth chart of one of the worst wide receiver rooms in the league. He only played 51 offensive snaps before the final week of the season, when the Patriots coaching staff largely played the team’s reserves.
With Polk and Baker having their fair share of struggles in 2024, the two receivers combined for fewer than 100 receiving yards. They only had 13 receptions for 99 yards and two touchdowns.
Polk and Baker each talked a big game at one point or another during their rookie season. Now, it’s time for them to produce. Maye knows that, and he senses his two teammates know it, too.
“I’m really taking it upon myself,” Maye said. “The guys came up with me. They’re receivers, and quarterback-receivers, it’s my job to get them the football. But also, I think it’s their job, and they know, to get their stuff together. Get to lifting hard, and running hard, and practicing hard. There’s a different way to practice in the NFL. It takes something off your body, but you’re still expected to be full speed, expected to be in the right spot, expected to line up right.
“So I think getting in the groove of that and getting in the groove of NFL life was different for all of us rookies. Especially in the NIL space, we all think we’re rich coming into the league, and really that money goes by fast.”
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