One of the bright spots the last few weeks for the Patriots has been wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.
Due to injuries at the position, he’s been able to play quite a bit and has made the most of his opportunities.
Meyers recorded six receptions for 58 yards against Buffalo in Week 8 and then everyone knows about his monster performance Monday night against the Jets when he totaled 12 catches on 14 targets for 169 yards on his 24th birthday.
Speaking via video conference Wednesday, Meyers further expanded on a recent conversation with quarterback Cam Newton that helped his confidence.
“I just remember him pretty much telling me that I was selling myself short,” he said. “That I have potential, all I have to do is just live up to it and go out there and show coaches what I can do. It was crazy because right after that, I got my opportunity, I actually played a couple plays and made a couple plays here in the San Fran game, a couple plays here in the Bills game and then I got the opportunity to play a major role in the last game.
“Like he was saying, just stop selling myself short. I could be beneficial to the team if I just go out there and put my best effort every day, show coaches that they can trust me to play and I'm reliable. And it ended up leading to good things.”
One of the questions that has been asked of late is since he’s been so productive the last two games, why wasn’t he playing at the start of the year?
Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels have pointed to Julian Edelman and N’Keal Harry being above him on the depth chart and now being injured, but just by watching the last few weeks, shouldn’t Meyers have been given a chance instead of standing on the sidelines?
This feels similar to Sony Michel and Damien Harris at the running back position. Even though Michel wasn’t all that productive dating back to last year, it took an injury to Michel to allow Harris to get his chance, which he’s made the most of.
Is Belichick giving players like Harry and Michel more of a chance because they were first-round picks? It certainly seems that way.
So, now that Meyers is on the field and producing, what could be his role moving forward?
Even when Harry comes back he will likely keep the same playing time since Edelman is still sidelined. Also, it was pointed out Meyers is running a lot of the same routes that Edelman does, which the second-year wide out acknowledged this week.
“He's definitely played a big role on my time being here as a Patriot. He pretty much gives me the answers to the test, honestly,” Meyers said. “All I have to do is watch him, what he did and throw in my own little route technique or my own little detail. It works. He gives me the answers to the test and combined that with great coaching, I feel like I'm prepared to go out there every day and compete my best.”
Meyers isn’t the fastest or most skilled received by any means, but he has a tremendous work ethic and is using his past experience as a college quarterback to outsmart some on the field in order to produce.
He’s the type of player Belichick loves to coach and is someone fans want to root for.
While the season hasn’t gone according to plan, it has allowed Meyers to breakout and show he’s deserving of significant playing time.
