5 receivers the Patriots could have drafted instead of Ja'Lynn Polk

Anthony Gould 

Oregon State product Gould was drafted by the Colts with their first fifth-round pick after they had already taken Adonai Mitchell in the second round. Gould was projected as a sixth-round pick who could fall to the 198th spot, so the Colts took a few by surprise when they grabbed him with the 142nd pick.

It has been suggested that they drafted Gould predominantly as a kick returner, but he has the sort of stardust that is going to come in handy on offense too. 

During his four years at Oregon State Gould returned 26 punts at an average of 16.3 yards! He took two of them to the house, he only returned one kickoff though. The 23-year-old will be a useful addition to the Colts special teams unit.

Gould didn’t just return kicks in college though, he also caught 84 passes. Gould racked up 1,360 receiving yards with six touchdown receptions. The former West Salem High School student also averaged 7,5 yards in the run game and scored a rushing touchdown. 

Gould ran a 4.34-second 40-yard dash at the combine which ranked in the 86th percentile. His 10-yard split ranked in the 92nd percentile and his jumps just cemented his status as an explosive athlete. His 39.5 vertical ranked in the 91st percentile and his broad jump was in the 92nd! 

The only surprise from Gould’s highlight tape is that the Dolphins didn’t draft him. He’s the sort of explosive downfield threat Mike McDaniel loves to send in motion. He may not play many snaps with the Colts offense, but he is the sort of receiver who makes a quarterback's job a lot easier.

With Gould running jet sweeps and going in motion before the snap Anthony Richardson will have a better idea of what the defense intends to do. With Pittman Jr., Downs, Mitchell, and Gould defenses won’t just be able to load the box to stop Jonathan Taylor and Richardson running.

The AFC South will be very interesting in 2024. 

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