Is it a bit of a stretch to suggest the Cincinnati Bengals' outlook for the future has anything to do with the New England Patriots' decision to trade wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk? Perhaps, but bear with me!
In a move that would make Bill Belichick blush with pride if he didn't have such animosity toward most folks in Foxborough nowadays, the Pats jettisoned their 2024 second-round pick in an otherwise-forgettable transaction on Saturday.
One of the big bummers about Week 1 for Cincinnati occurred even before the ball kicked off in Cleveland. And its shadow still lingers in the aftermath of the Pats' Polk deal.
Like Patriots, Bengals could offload most of 2024 draft class before long
Ja'Lynn Polk was the 37th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. New head coach Mike Vrabel had already seen enough to ship him away to the New Orleans Saints, as reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
That bummer I touched on in the intro was as follows: The Bengals' Week 1 inactives list features both of their third-round draftees from 2024 in defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson and wide receiver Jermaine Burton.
It's even more surprising that the Saints would take on whatever risk they're assuming with Polk given that he's already out for the 2025 season due to shoulder surgery. Apparently, something must've irked New England behind the scenes enough to give up on Polk improving next year.
The cliche of actions speaking louder than words certainly extends to what the Patriots just did to Polk. They flipped their 2028 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2027 sixth-rounder, which they thought was enough compensation to justify the deal.
Here's what's most alarming for the Patriots, though: They whiffed on almost their whole 2024 draft.
Currently, Drake Maye is the lone key player from the Patriots 2024 draft. Many have been traded or waived. https://t.co/80auZIUWh5
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 13, 2025
Talk about a poor return on investment. When it comes to Jackson and Burton, Cincinnati has gotten comparatively similar results out of them since they entered the NFL.
Burton managed only four receptions on 14 targets for 107 yards as a rookie. To not be on the same page that often with an elite quarterback like Joe Burrow is not a good look. Meanwhile, regarding that actions-words bit, the Bengals were aggressive to add talent at defensive tackle with acquisitions like TJ Slaton and Mike Pennel more recently. They also kept undrafted rookie Howard Cross III on their 53-man roster.
Slaton and Pennel are the type of run-stopping gap cloggers Jackson was expected to be. It's quite obvious Cincinnati didn't believe he was developing well enough to be trusted with a significant role.
Unheralded wideout Mitchell Tinsley exploded past Burton on the Bengals' receiver depth chart thanks to a tremendous preseason and camp. Despite allegedly improved maturity and work ethic, Burton is likely to find himself a healthy scratch in Week 2 against the Jacksonvilel Jaguars.
Beyond those more obvious disappointments from the Bengals' 2024 class, they took a flier on tight end Erick All Jr., seeing the upside in a risky pick with medical red flags. All then tore his ACL in November, and is out for all of this season.
Second-rounder Kris Jenkins Jr. earned a lot of praise from Al Golden in camp, yet had a negligible impact in the season opener. Are we sure that Jenkins is going to live up to his draft status? It's a dubious proposition at best right now.
The obvious bright spot is starting right tackle Amarius Mims. He's a mountain of a man who should only keep progressing the more reps he receives. Alas, other than Mims and backup nickel Josh Newton, the Bengals can't point to anyone from that 2024 draft group who's making a meaningful splash in their second year.
It's quite possible we see Jackson or Burton offloaded at some point during the 2025 campaign. There's a fine line between giving up on a player too soon and letting them develop, but Cincinnati doesn't have time or roster spots to waste on drafted players who can't be relied upon.
Mims feels like the only true roster lock for next season amongst the Bengals' 10 draft picks from 2024. There's a lot of time for Jenkins to still prove himself, and he should get the chance to do so. All I'm saying is, regarding the 2024 draft, the Pats aren't that much better off than the Bengals.