Jakobi Meyers, who has been the Patriots' best player in a struggling wide receiver corps over the last two weeks, hardly played in New England's first five games of the season.
The reason is not complicated. The Patriots didn't think Meyers was one of their three -- or sometimes four or five -- best wide receivers early in the 2020 NFL season. It took injuries to N'Keal Harry (concussion) and Julian Edelman (knee) to get Meyers into a starting role.
"N'Keal and Julian had been in there and just more a function of that, really," Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said Tuesday. "Jakobi's always ready to go, always ready to take advantage of the opportunities that he's given. I thought Jakobi did a nice job on Sunday of being ready to go. A couple weeks in a row where he's practiced well and then been able to do some things for us. I have a lot of confidence in Jakobi Meyers and encouraged by what he's been able to do and look forward to continue to grow and improve with him as we move forward."
Meyers dealt with a shoulder injury during training camp. It sounds like his lack of snaps were unrelated to the ailment.
"We started the year basically with the three receivers being Harry, Edelman and (Damiere) Byrd, and then other guys had other roles," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Monday. "But, that's changed, so there have been opportunities for other players to play at that position and we play the players that we feel like have a chance to help us the most in the game."
Meyers has 10 catches for 118 yards over the last two weeks of the season. He has 11 receptions for 125 yards overall in five games.
The second-year pro played seven snaps in Week 1, eight snaps in Week 2, seven snaps in Week 3, was inactive in Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs and was active but didn't play a single offensive snap in Week 6 against the Denver Broncos.
The Patriots elected to play Edelman, Harry, Byrd, Gunner Olszewski and Isaiah Zuber over Meyers against the Chiefs and Broncos.
Meyers now leads Patriots receivers in yards per route run, per PFF.
Meyers: 1.92 yards per route run
Edelman: 1.89 yards per route run
Zuber: 1.81 yards per route run
Byrd: 1.20 yards per route run
Harry: 1.18 yards per route run
Olszewski: .39 yards per route run
Edelman is on injured reserve for at least two more games after undergoing a procedure on his knee. That should keep Meyers in the starting rotation even when Harry returns.
The Patriots will have a difficult decision to make if Edelman also returns this season. But if Meyers continues to play at a high level as quarterback Cam Newton's favorite target, the 2019 undrafted free agent should not be removed from the starting offense.
