Ja'Lynn Polk

Former wide receiver at Washington. 2023: 69 catches, 1,159 receiving yards, 9 TD.

WR · Washington · So. · #2

6′2″ · 204 lb · Lufkin, TX

CFB Index 87 · #18 of 497 WRsHigh confidenceNew England — drafted 2024, Rd 2, Pick 5, #37 overall

Recruiting

3★

WR recruit

No. 461 nationally · Signed with Texas Tech

Statement game6 rec · 153 yds · 3 TDvs Michigan State (FBS) · W 39-28

Top 1% receiving yards game since 2021.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Former wide receiver at Washington. 2023: 69 catches, 1,159 receiving yards, 9 TD.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Texas Tech in 2020.
Transferred from Texas Tech to Houston in 2021.
Drafted round 2 by the New England in 2024.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Four seasons at Washington, 2,231 receiving yards — drafted at #37 overall by New England.

His career

He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

The week the volume broke through — put up 148 yds at Stanford.Stanford · W 42-332023

202010 games

Signed with Texas Tech3-star out of Lufkin

20213 games

The snaps went the other way.

Entered the portal

2024

Drafted by New Englandround 2, pick 37

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#461 national

CFB

College

2 teams

2020–2023

NFL

NFL Draft

R2 · #37

New England · 2024

Coaching lineage · 2020–2023

2 coaches

2020–2021

Jimmy Lake

Washington

2022–2023

Kalen DeBoer

Washington

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Jimmy Lake → Kalen DeBoer. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

New EnglandEntering 3rd NFL season

#37Rd 2 · Pick 5

New EnglandEntering 3rd NFL season

View college career stats ↓

2023 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2020Texas Tech4-6HC: Matt Wells · Balanced

2021Washington4-8HC: Jimmy Lake · Balanced

2022Washington11-2HC: Kalen DeBoer · Pass-leaning

2023Washington14-1HC: Kalen DeBoer · Pass-leaning

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

87All-Conference level #18 of 497?

High confidence13 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: yards / catch (92nd percentile). Strength: explosive rate (88th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Yards / catch#54 / 639 · 92nd pct

17.2

Explosive rate#74 / 639 · 88th pct

23.5%

TD rate#116 / 639 · 82nd pct

10.3%

EPA / target#120 / 639 · 81st pct

1.05

Catch rate#324 / 639 · 49th pct

82.4%

Box-score rates (8)

Long catch#4 / 566 · 99th pct

Rec yards#15 / 566 · 97th pct

1159

Rec TDs#26 / 566 · 95th pct

Receptions#39 / 566 · 93rd pct

Rush TDs#13 / 294 · 89th pct

Yards / catch#88 / 566 · 84th pct

16.8

Rush yards#63 / 294 · 79th pct

Fumbles lost#93 / 227 · 35th pct

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / target

72nd → 81st percentile

Explosive rate

80th → 88th percentile

Catch rate

21st → 49th percentile

TD rate

77th → 82nd percentile

Yards / catch

92nd → 92nd percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2023 season · 13 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home8g	5.6	95.4	18.3	0.6
Road5g	4.8	79.2	16.2	0.8

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-78g	5.1	93.1	18.9	0.8
Weeks 8+5g	5.6	82.8	15.3	0.6

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Jedd Fisch

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

Part-time starter

Splitting first-team reps — starts some weeks, rotates others.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

87 · #18 of 497 WRs

Three-star recruit. Now #18 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2023	Washington	69	1,159	16.8	9	--
2022	Washington	41	694	16.9	6	--
2021	Washington	5	114	22.8	1	--
2020	Texas Tech	28	264	9.4	2	--
Career		143	2,231	15.6	18	--

Season	Team
2023	Washington	4	32	--	--	--
2022	Washington	1	15	--	--	--
2021	Washington	--	--	--	--	--
2020	Texas Tech	--	--	--	--	--
Career		5	47	--	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 7 · 2023

W 36–33

vs Oregon

6 rec · 118 yds · 1 TD

Edged out Oregon at home in a shootout.

With M. Penix Jr. — 302 yds · 4 TD · 1 INT · QBR 89.2 · -5 rush yds (1 car) · G. Bernard — 14 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 97.9

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 9 · Stanford · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +6.85Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Ja'Lynn Polk for 92 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK) (Grady Gross KICK)
Week 1 · Texas · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +5.12Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Ja'Lynn Polk for 77 yds to the TEX 2 for a 1ST down
Week 2 · Tulsa · 2&20 · Q1 · EPA +4.04Ja'Lynn Polk run for 27 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Week 1 · Boise State · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +3.41Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Ja'Lynn Polk for 44 yds for a TD (Grady Gross KICK)
Week 1 · Texas · 2&10 · Q2 · EPA +3.32Ja'Lynn Polk 29 Yd pass from Michael Penix Jr. (Grady Gross Kick)
Week 11 · Utah · 2&10 · Q1 · EPA +3.30Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Ja'Lynn Polk for 30 yds to the UTAH 45 for a 1ST down
Week 9 · Stanford · 3&10 · Q3 · EPA +3.00Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Ja'Lynn Polk for 13 yds to the STAN 39 for a 1ST down
Week 2 · Tulsa · 3&10 · Q2 · EPA +2.99Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Ja'Lynn Polk for 16 yds to the TLSA 33 for a 1ST down
Week 2 · Tulsa · 2&7 · Q1 · EPA +2.94Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Ja'Lynn Polk for 33 yds to the WASH 49 for a 1ST down
Week 8 · Arizona State · 3&3 · Q4 · EPA +2.87Michael Penix Jr. pass complete to Ja'Lynn Polk for 21 yds to the ASU 42 for a 1ST down

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 56-19vs Boise State	3	101	33.7	1	50
Wk 2	W 43-10vs Tulsa	5	81	16.2	0	33
Wk 3	W 41-7@ Michigan State	5	118	23.6	1	38
Wk 4	W 59-32vs California	8	127	15.9	2	35	2 TD catches
Wk 5	W 31-24@ Arizona	5	41	8.2	0	15
Wk 7	W 36-33vs Oregon	6	118	19.7	1	35
Wk 8	W 15-7vs Arizona State	9	102	11.3	0	21
Wk 9	W 42-33@ Stanford	5	148	29.6	2	92	Season-high 148 yds
Wk 10	W 52-42@ USC	5	52	10.4	1	32
Wk 11	W 35-28vs Utah	4	55	13.8	0	30
Wk 14	W 34-31vs Oregon	5	57	11.4	0	25
Bowl	W 37-31vs Texas	5	122	24.4	1	77
Bowl	L 13-34@ Michigan	4	37	9.3	0	15
Total		69	1159	17.5	9	92

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology