After converting from quarterback to wide receiver as a freshman at N.C. State, Jakobi Meyers closed out his college career with 92 catches a year ago. But the production wasn't enough to get him drafted after running a slower-than-desired 4.6 40 at the NFL Combine.
Landing with the receiver-needy Patriots as an undrafted rookie, Meyers has already opened eyes in training camp action and the buzz around him will only grow after his performance in the preseason opener in Detroit in which he caught six of eight passes thrown his way for 69 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
"It feels great to play football. I'm just trying to embrace it all, slow the game down, continue to get better every day," Meyers said, sounding very much a Patriot during a postgame press conference at Ford Field after the 31-3 victory.
While Meyers admits he has something to prove, it has nothing to do with a chip on his shoulder from not being drafted.
"I don't have time to think about what I have to prove to people who don't…I don't want to say don't matter, but I have to keep proving to my coaches that I deserve to be here. I'm not on the team yet," Meyers said, slowing the momentum on his personal hype train. "I'm trying to make sure I can stay here and continue to be here. That's who I'm trying to prove a point to, not really to people who didn't give me the call."
Meyers pointed to "want-to and listening" for allowing him to get off to a solid start in his first couple weeks of training camp in New England and is clearly proud that he was able to bring practice field success to the game action against the Lions.
"I was getting a lot of texts, 'Oh, I heard you were doing great in practice' and all but it doesn't mean anything because we didn't have a game yet. So just the fact that I could go out there and show that I deserve to be here for now, I'm just trying to keep pushing forward," Meyers explained.
The young receiver was also thankful that backup quarterback Brian Hoyer had the faith in him to throw the ball despite tight coverage on his first touchdown of the night.
"The fact that he trusted me to even throw that ball, that's kind of something I want from all the quarterbacks," Meyers said. "Hopefully I can keep improving on that trust. And they'll give me a chance to make plays."
Far from cocky, Meyers clearly has plenty of confidence in his abilities and therefore wasn't necessarily surprised by his professional debut. Considering the lack of established options on the Patriots receiver depth chart, he should be given every opportunity to build on his fast start in New England.
"I wouldn't say surprised. I'm thankful. God put me in position all I had to do was take advantage of it. So, surprised wouldn't be my go-to word," Meyers said. "But I'm not satisfied, either. At the same time I just have to keep going forward and hopefully more is to come."
