It’s well past time to stop looking at Jakobi Meyers as “surprisingly good” or “good, but just because he’s with the Patriots.”
The fourth-year receiver is just flat-out good, plain and simple. In fact, he might be much better than that.
Meyers leads New England in receptions (24) and receiving yards (321) despite missing two games due to injuries. He by far is the most consistent, productive receiver in the Patriots offense, and is quarterback Mac Jones’ most trusted target. Teammates rave about the 25-year-old, whom safety Adrian Phillips said “can’t be guarded.”
The advanced statistics also paint the Patriots receiver in a great light. On Wednesday, Seth Walder of ESPN shared a graphic in which the x-axis plotted pass-catchers based on how open they get, and the y-axis plotted players based on an advanced catch-score metric.
The top-right quadrant is where players want to be, as it indicates a receiver both gets open at an elite level and is great at catching the ball. Meyers landed in that section, along with the following players:
— Travis Kelce
— Tyler Lockett
— Stefon Diggs
— Chris Olave
— DeVonta Smith
— David Njoku
— Adam Thielen
— Amari Cooper
— A.J. Brown
— Justin Jefferson
— Tyreek Hill
— Mark Andrews
— Diontae Johnson
— Marquise Brown
— Brandon Aiyuk
That’s pretty impressive, although Meyers’ name being in blue shows he’s not among the NFL’s best in yards after the catch (YAC).
Nevertheless, Meyers has established himself as a very good NFL receiver. That’s both good and bad news for New England, as Meyers is scheduled to become a free agent this offseason.
He’ll look to continue putting up great numbers when the Patriots host the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
