Patriots Free Agents: How Will Pats Proceed With RFA Jakobi Meyers?

The New England Patriots have nearly 20 players set to hit free agency when the NFL league year opens March 16. As that date approaches, we’re taking a closer look at each one. Next up: wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.

2021 SEASON REVIEW
Despite the offseason additions of Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, neither could knock Meyers from his perch atop the Patriots’ wide receiver depth chart. The 2019 undrafted free agent led all New England skill players in snaps played (84.2%), targets (126), catches (83) and receiving yards (866), setting career highs in all four categories. Meyers also scored his first two NFL touchdowns and went 2-for-2 for 45 yards as a trick-play passer.

In nearly every key scenario, Meyers was rookie quarterback Mac Jones’ top option, leading the team in targets on third down, while Jones was pressured and while Jones was blitzed, according to Pro Football Focus. He finished the season with 51 more targets and 28 more catches than any other Patriots player and nearly as many receiving first downs (42) as Bourne and Agholor combined (50).

But while Meyers has been the Patriots’ No. 1 receiver for the past 1 1/2 seasons — and has been a valuable contributor in New England’s offense — he’s really more suited for a complementary role. Finding a true game-changer to spearhead their receiving corps and help Jones reach new heights as a passer should be high on the Patriots’ list of offseason priorities.

Meyers also wasn’t the most explosive nor efficient of New England’s wideouts in 2021. That title went to Bourne, who ranked near the top of the NFL in catch rate (78.6% to Meyers’ 65.9%) and yards per target (11.4 to Meyers’ 6.9) while amassing 800 receiving yards and catching five touchdown passes.

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CASE FOR RE-SIGNING
Meyers said he “definitely” wants to be back next season, and the Patriots would be wise to keep him. He’s steadily improved each year and has a strong connection with Jones, with whom he plans to link up for throwing sessions this offseason. He’s a restricted free agent, though, which adds an extra variable to this equation.

The Patriots can choose to tender Meyers at a first-round, second-round or right-of-first-refusal level. The first two would give New England the corresponding draft-pick compensation if another team signs the 25-year-old to an offer sheet and the Patriots decline to match. Since Meyers was undrafted, the third would simply give the Patriots the opportunity to match any outside offer.

The exact tender values have yet to be announced, but salary cap site OverTheCap projects them at $5.56 million, $3.99 million and $2.43 million, respectively. Of these three, the second-round tender — which the Patriots used to retain cornerback J.C. Jackson last offseason — seems like the most likely avenue for Meyers.

The Patriots also could skip the RFA process and sign Meyers to a longer-term contract extension — which, based on his post-season comments, he’d likely be open to. As a third-year UDFA, he earned just $850,000 in salary this season and deserves a raise.

CASE AGAINST RE-SIGNING
If the Patriots make substantial additions to their receiving corps this offseason — like, say, adding a top-tier outside threat and a quicker, shiftier slot — and want to give the underwhelming Agholor a chance to improve in Year 2, they could view Meyers as expendable.