FOXBORO — It’s always nice to find a friend on the first day of school.
And that’s the best analogy for Patriots draft picks as they kickstart their NFL careers at rookie minicamp.
The Patriots leaned into their biggest needs while selecting players in the 2024 NFL Draft and thus wound up taking two wide receivers in Washington’s Ja’Lynn Polk and UCF’s Javon Baker and two offensive linemen in Penn State offensive tackle Caedan Wallace and Texas A&M guard Layden Robinson.
Polk and Baker and Wallace and Robinson actually knew each other prior to being selected by the Patriots, but each pair has quickly forged a strong relationship.
Polk took reporters through the rookies’ days at minicamp.
“We’re here all day pretty much from 6 a.m to 7:30 (p.m.). Me and Javon, after we finish everything, we’ll get our food and before we go to the hotel … we’ll go in there, catch jugs, one of the equipment guys will go in there with us,” the second-round pick said Saturday. “We try to find our routine and schedule and be the best we can be, lead the guys in the room and us to feed off the vets and be able to pick their brains and the things they do. It’s exciting to be part of something like this.”
Polk and Baker, a fourth-round pick, were favorite targets of rookie quarterback Drake Maye in Day 2 of rookie minicamp on Saturday, the first session open to the media.
Polk primarily lined up at his college position at “Z” wide receiver, while Baker was at his college role at “X” receiver, though both players have positional flexibility.
“Man, they look good. They look good. They made some plays in 7-on-7, I threw a couple behind them, and they still made the catches,” Maye said. “I don’t know if we’ve had one on the ground yet, knock on wood. That’s the goal out here: come out here, routes on air, and be 100%. Those guys are going to be some special players.”
Polk and Baker trained together at XPE Sports in Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) before the NFL Scouting Combine. They also took a visit together before the draft.
“It’s pretty cool for us to end up together here and be with each other again,” Polk said. “A great receiver, a dominant player, very confident player. He knows exactly what he’s able to do and what he’s going to be able to do out there on the field.”
Wallace, who lined up at left tackle during rookie minicamp, and Robinson, who played left guard, met each other at the combine.
“That’s my dude. We started texting right after the draft,” Wallace said. “Honestly, we’ve been inseparable since we’ve been out there. That’s my guy. We walk around together, eat together, study plays together. It’s really cool being with him.”
Robinson echoed that sentiment.
“When we got here, he hit me up and said ‘let’s get to work.’ It’s been great. We’ve been bonding, learning this playbook together,” Robinson said. “And he’s my left tackle and I’m left guard right now. So it’s big communication, a big key part of this game, so we’ve been doing that. We’ve just been having fun together as a whole.”
Players typically find it helpful to go through their first season with a fellow rookie. Polk, Baker, Wallace and Robinson will have a peer to lean on during their early professional careers.