Jakobi Meyers went from an undrafted free agent fighting for a roster spot to the New England Patriots’ leading receiver in a span of one year.
The NC State product cemented himself as the Patriots’ No. 1 receiver for three years, including on the 2021 playoff team, before leaving for the Raiders in free agency two offseasons ago. The rise from early in his career is an experience he’s called upon over the last week, since teammate Davante Adams’ absence thrust Meyers into a No. 1 receiver role with the Raiders.
“I’ve played in big moments,” Meyers said. “I had to pull a lot of weight before so, until we figure out what’s going on, I’m just going to keep my head down and hopefully we can do this together.”
There might not be much to figure out anymore. Adams appears highly unlikely to ever play for the Raiders again.
His final appearance in silver and black may have come in the Raiders’ win over the Browns Sunday at Allegiant Stadium where he watched Meyers lead the team in receiving with five catches for 49 yards.
Adams injured his hamstring in practice last Thursday and has since asked for a trade following a fallout with coach Antonio Pierce.
Losing one of the most decorated receivers in the NFL would negatively affect any offense, but the Raiders might be in better position to absorb the departure than most of their peers.
That’s because they have Meyers, another player who’s shown he can be the focal point of a passing game.
When Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew was asked which teammate had impressed him the most during training camp, it wasn’t Adams. He said it was Meyers.
The pair often threw together after practice and clicked with one another. Now, it’s time to cash in on the chemistry.
“Kobi took on a bigger role,” Minshew said of the Browns’ game. “He’s going to be a guy I’ve got to do a better job of getting the ball.”
Meyers’ former New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels initially brought the receiver to town on a three-year, $33 million contract to act as Adams’ complement while he was coaching Las Vegas.
But Meyers’ production didn’t fall off much, if at all, while playing in as a section option in his first season with the Raiders. Despite Las Vegas fielding one of the NFL’s least efficient passing attacks last season, Meyers still caught 71 passes for 807 yards — both the second-highest marks of his career behind the aforementioned playoff season.
He also matched Adams with eight receiving touchdowns, three of them coincidentally coming against Sunday’s opponent — the Denver Broncos.
Denver used cornerbacks to follow specific players at the second-highest rate in the league last year per DVOA charting data. Meyers, therefore, may have benefitted from shutdown corner Patrick Surtain II shadowing Adams throughout most of both games.
When the AFC West rivals’ game kicks off at 1:05 p.m. Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High, Meyers is likely to be Surtain’s new assignment. The receiver won’t back down.
“I’m excited for it,” Meyers said of the matchup. “I think he’s a really good player. He plays hard, he’s efficient but I love challenges and we’re going to see what it looks like when I get out there.”
Meyers may not have Adams’ speed or route-running prowess, but he’s held his own through sure hands and sheer will. Both Pierce and team leader Maxx Crosby have referenced Meyers as the hardest-working player on the team at different times.
First-year offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said he knew he was coming into a luxury with Meyers as the No. 2 receiver at the start of the year, but the sixth-year pro quickly eclipsed his expectations.
“It hits you in the face, like immediately you get excited because you see the talent level on film, but then when you get to meet the person, and you can see how in depth he is and the details that he that he abides by the approach that he takes every single day,” Getsy said. “That stuff blows you away.”
Getsy also noted that Meyers gives him, “flexibility to do a lot different things.” The Raiders’ offense was a bit more creative last week, including scoring on a pair of rushing attempts for receivers Tre Tucker and DJ Turner.
Meyers had four carries for 24 yards and two touchdowns last season, but has logged on only one for three yards so far this year. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound receiver also played quarterback in high school through his first year in college, making trick plays a constant potential option.
Meyers threw a touchdown pass to Adams in last year’s record-breaking rout of the Los Angeles Chargers.
He had mostly deferred to Adams while in Las Vegas but is now taking on a more active leadership role during a time he described as distracting for the team. The receivers exited the locker room and seemed to be avoiding the media Wednesday when Adams discussion was at its peak, but Meyers came in to speak to a horde of reporters.
He shared that he’s been encouraging his teammates and reminding them to focus on the task at hand.
“We’ve just got to win honestly,” Meyers said. “That’s all that matters. We understand what happened. We understand there’s a lot we don’t know, but what we do know is we’ve got a game this Sunday with a big-time opponent, a lot of good players and we want to be our best.”
