Inside The Huskies

Need for Speed: Polk Has to Show How Truly Fast He Is at Combine

The Husky wide receiver will be watched closely in the 40-yard dash.
Dan Raley|
Need for Speed: Polk Has to Show How Truly Fast He Is at Combine
Need for Speed: Polk Has to Show How Truly Fast He Is at Combine

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Washington Huskies

It's NFL Scouting Combine week, with the draft just two months away. 

Thirteen University of Washington football players — the second most among all FBS schools — will journey to Indianapolis to show pro teams what they're all about and answer any lingering questions.

No Husky may find this trip to the Midwest more beneficial than wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk. 

Often the Texan was considered the UW's third most-coveted receiver, at least until Jalen McMillan got hurt, and then he drew far more visibility. 

Polk has welcome size (6-foot-2 and 204 pounds) and high-level productivity from this past season (69 catches for 1,159 yards and 9 scores), but the scouts still have a big question to ask of him. 

How fast are you?

"The 40 will be big for him," said Daniel Jeremiah, NFL Network draft analyst. "Just the top-end speed is maybe a little bit of a knock there. People are interested in seeing that, but just as a play-maker. I'm a big fan of his game."

While Polk was stellar in the Sugar Bowl against Texas — he caught 5 passes for 122 yards and a score — people raised questions about his overall speed when they saw him get pulled down at the end of a 77-yard reception on the Longhorns 2 by cornerback Terrance Brooks.

While Brooks might have had the angle on him, Polk addressed the issue himself without prompting that he has to get into the end zone on a play like that.

"I got caught, but I've got to score the next time," he said while standing in the Superdome in New Orleans.

Polk's online NFL draft profiles list his 40-yard dash speed at 4.48 seconds. The pro scouts will want to confirm that as they determine his draft slot, which has been projected to come on the second day of the selection process. Otherwise, everything else about him as a pass-catcher seems enticing.

"He has some inside-outside versatility," Jeremiah said. "I think he has excellent catch radius. He can go get the ball. He has some crazy, acrobatic catches."

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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