BREAKING: STEALING" SECRETS FROM THE CELTICS: Secret training session with Joe Mazzulla

The offseason rolls on for the New England Patriots and the attention now shifting to the NFL Combine and free agency.

For anything not covered on Pats Pulpit throughout the week, let’s take a look in this week’s Sunday edition of Patriots Notes.

Polk’s bounce-back

When the Patriots selected wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, they did so with the vision of him being a plug-and-play option in their offense.

The early returns were promising as Polk was a fixture with the top offensive units during the spring and summer — even being one of the team’s most active pass catchers in training camp practices.

Then things came crashing down. Fast.

Despite playing in 15 games his rookie season, Polk finished with just 12 catches. In total, Polk went for just 87 yards and two touchdowns on those receptions.

The numbers almost didn’t look real to Hall of Fame finalist wide receiver Steve Smith.

“I though it was a misprint,” Smith said in his recent review of Polk on his 89 show. “I wrote it down four times.”

While the numbers were in fact real, Smith did not believe they all fell on the rookies’ shoulders. The biggest reason for the lack of production from Smith’s view instead fell on New England’s coaching staff — which has since been remodeled in all facets.

“It aint his fault that they were switching up things every week. It’s not his fault that his offensive coordinator was not very good. And it’s not his fault that his head coach, Jerod Mayo, was giving mixed messages. That’s uncontrollable things that are outside his control,” Smith said.

In Alex Van Pelt’s offense, Polk’s role often changed from week-to-week (largely due to the lack of talent surrounding him in the receiver room). The early season concepts then left a lot to be desired from the 16-year veteran. Smith pointed to Polk running routes downfield even though he was playing with a quarterback in Jacoby Brissett who operated in the quick game — especially with the Patriots’ offensive line struggles.

All of it put together, Smith believes, had the rookies head in a pretzel.

“I just couldn’t really figure out what was going on,” Smith said of the Patriots offense. “And when you are a veteran who’s learned multiple offense and can’t tell you what the hell they’re doing, what do you think a rookie [feels]? You think his head is not swimming.”

Polk was also led by first-time wide receiver coach Tyler Hughes and assistant Tiquan Underwood, a set-up that Smith was not a fan of.

“Looking at Ja’Lynn Polk and then looking at the people coaching him, I have that ‘Oh it makes sense,’” he said. “When I’m looking at his film — the inconsistency, the way he’s doing things — he’s being led by the wrong people.”

The early season struggles — which were highlighted by failing to get his heel in bounds on a potential game-winning touchdown vs. Miami — seemed to wear on Polk from a mental side of things his rookie season. While the receiver denied a mental block and instead proclaimed to have the best hands in football, both Mayo and Van Pelt noted the mental hump Polk had to overcome.

Smith, however, agreed with the coaches and could see the rookies confidence take a hit. That then led to a failed connection with fellow rookie Drake Maye, as the duo connected on just three targets after Maye took over as the starter.

“I can tell you right now by my observation there were times, because of the confidence kind of going away with Polk, that he started to lose the confidence of his young quarterback,” Smith said. “Because his young quarterback was watching the decline of his confidence in his wide receiver and the quarterback does not throw the football to a guy that maybe will catch it or he is maybe in the right spot.”

As New England now enters the offseason with a need again at wide receiver, the hope could be the change to a more experienced coaching staff can bring more out of Polk in his sophomore season. Smith is not necessarily ruling it out.

“Overall, it’s just a tough situation for a young kid to be in. It’s not necessarily his fault,” Smith added before grading Polk’s rookie season a C. “I think things will [change]. It ain’t his fault.”

Maye’s belief

Among those joining Smith in his belief in the receiver — as well as his fellow rookie Javon Baker is Maye. Appearing on former Patriot Chris Long’s Green Light podcast over Super Bowl week, Maye pointed towards the duo when asked which young players could take a step forward next season.

“I think we brought into two rookie receivers, I think Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker that were kind of feeling out this year, and they both battled some injuries, but I think, hopefully, expecting one of them, if not both, to kind of make a splash this year,” Maye said. “I think it’s really taking it upon myself. Those guys came in with me, the receivers and quarterback receivers, it’s my job to get them to 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. It’s a different way to practice in the NFL. It takes something off your body, but you still expect to be full speed, expect to be in the right spot, expect to line up right.

“So I think getting the groove of that and getting the groove of the NFL life was different for all us rookies, especially in the new NIL space. We all think we’re rich coming into the league and really that money goes by fast. So I think this new space is good for us to kind of get a feel of, ‘Hey, you make this lifestyle, and we still got a ways to go and goals we need to meet.’”

Vrabel’s week

Before Mike Vrabel flies out to Indianapolis for the NFL Combine, the head coach spent Saturday afternoon at the Auerbach Center attending the Boston Celtics practice. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who has taken in Patriots practices over the years in Foxboro, issued the invite to Vrabel.

“It was great. He obviously brings a championship perspective. Any time you can just get together with guys in the same arena as we are and support each other, I think that’s important,” Mazzulla told reporters.

“The four people that have these [Boston coaching] jobs, for however long you have it, there’s got to be a brotherhood there — a communication and understanding of we’re all carry a responsibility to compete at high level and to bring championships to the city. We got to learn from each other and have that perspective.”

Coach of the Year

Early Coach of the Year odds have been released for the 2025-26 NFL season and Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is currently listed as the co-favorite along with Chicago Bears new head coach Ben Johnson, who also interviewed for the position in New England.

Vrabel previously won coach of the year with the Tennessee Titans after an 12-5 season in 2021.

Under 40

The Athletic released their NFL 50 under 40 list this past week which examines rising coaches, executives, personalities and other personnel who significantly impact the NFL and will continue to do so moving forward — all nominated by colleagues, bosses, players, high-profile team and league sources, and beat reporters.

Among the 50 candidates were Patriots special team coordinator Jeremy Springer, 35, and new VP of football operations and strategy John “Stretch” Streicher.

New threads…?

With the five year window concluding at the end of last season, the Patriots are now free to undergo a uniform redesign this offseason. Some level of change remains the expectation, while Maye may have hinted on one potential swap on the Green Line.

“I think they’re maybe coming out with a — maybe is what kind of the fans are wanting some blue, some throwback blues,” he said. “The fans are wanting it, so I think that’d be pretty sick.”

Rookie moment

“I saw [Danielle Hunter] at the Pro Bowl as well, man. I told him and I said, that was my ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moment. That was my moment,” Maye told Long about his first rookie moment — a strip sack vs. the Texans in his first career start.

“First start, Danielle, and obviously, Will Anderson, both of them coming off the edge. We were worried about them… I just threw a touchdown end of the first half. We’re down 14-7. Get the ball in the second half. We got a chance to get back in the game. That first drive, I get strip-sacked by Danielle Hunter. He looks like a created player in Madden coming off the edge and [got] strip-sacked, I didn’t see him coming and I should have got the ball out. Bad sack I took. I think the game was kind of we were trying to fight back.”

After the hit to his shoulder, Maye stayed down on the turf for what Long timed as 18 seconds.

“Yeah, that one kind of brought me back into, ‘Hey, this is what you’re in. This is kind of the NFL moment,’” Maye added.

Setting up the week ahead

The first major checkpoint in the offseason is upon us as the NFL Combine is set to kick off this upcoming week in Indianapolis. For the second straight year, Patriots Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf will meet with the media on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET. It will mark Wolf’s first public comments since Mike Vrabel was hired as head coach.

Speaking of Vrabel, the head coach will also be in attendance and hold media availability on Tuesday at 10:15 a.m. ET.