Baltimore Ravens: Makai Polk, WR, Mississippi State
The Baltimore Ravens came to terms with Mississippi State wide receiver Makai Polk following the draft, and for Polk, this could be the best landing spot possible. A late-bloomer in the NCAA, Polk had just 478 yards in two seasons for Cal.
Then, he transferred to Mississippi State where he had a monstrous end to his collegiate career. The redshirt sophomore had 105 receptions for 1,046 yards and nine touchdowns. It still wasn’t enough to get him drafted but there were expectations that he could go in the late rounds.
Now in Baltimore, he joins a receiving corps that doesn’t have a lot of star power. After trading Marquise Brown to the Arizona Cardinals, the Ravens are set to start Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay.
James Proche and Tylan Wallace will also be in the mix but outside of Bateman, the rest are still relatively unknown at the professional level.
One thing Polk has that will help him out is size. He’s listed at 6-foot-3 and 200-pounds, which makes him a big target for Lamar Jackson to work with.
And while he might have benefited from a pass-happy offense under Mike Leach, he does have a very high football IQ and knows how to move around when the play breaks down and the quarterback starts to improvise — which is something that he will need to rely on with Jackson under center.