Every year some surprise undrafted rookies come out of nowhere. Last year that honor went to Phillip Linsday of the Denver Broncos. Now, this year, Jakobi Meyers is making some serious noise for the New England Patriots. From his breakout training camp to productive preseason games, Meyers has held up to every test along the way. He’s on his way to truly become a standout receiver.
Now, the question is obviously how big of a role can Meyers have this season? The film is pretty clear in answering this question, and we know Bill Belichick is not one to wait on rookies. If they are ready to play and are the best football players in that room, they will play significant snaps for the Patriots.
So, the question then becomes, is Meyers one of the top three receivers for the New England? The tape gives us a lot of clarity.
Meyers’ Releases and Route Running
Meyers is not a small guy; he’s a rather lengthy player with a tall frame. As a converted quarterback, those measurables are expected, but Meyers has the agility among other traits to be great. His release and route-running ability begin with quick feet. Combining swift footwork with fantastic lateral quickness makes for masterful releases and breaking in routes.
In this video, Meyers is at the top of your screen as the inside receiver. There’s no doubt that this clip will be the main highlight of Meyers’ preseason. It is pure mastery in terms of receiver release.
Here he’ll take a three-step release with lightning-quick feet to eat up all the ground on the defensive back. By the time the defender knows it, Meyers is already on his toes and essentially controls him. Again, it’s his quick feet, and lateral agility and Meyers only needs a jab step and a head fake to get the corner to lean outside. By doing that, Meyers easily cuts back inside for a win on this slant. Everything begins and ends with footwork.
What the film states is simple — if you give Meyers a free release, he is going to win more often than not.
On this play, the corner plays up on Meyers but never gets his hands on him. Similarly to the previous clip, Meyers begins with a three-step quick release followed by an outside jab before breaking on the slant.
It’s as easy as it gets for a guy who possesses great footwork, quickness, and an understanding of leverage. This cornerback began inside-shade but leaned outside with Meyers’ jab. What seemed a win for the defender before the snap soon worked in the offenses’ favor.
Here is a bit of a different situation. On this play, the 222-pound safety gets all up in Meyers’ space and not only presses him but essentially harasses him throughout the route.
Meyers still has the advantage here. With a hand swipe to get behind the defender, Meyers proves he can win through contact and hand fight with bigger defensive backs. From there, he does a fantastic job of high pointing the football and bringing down a contested catch. The contact and hand fighting was not enough to slow Meyers down.
His Other Traits
Meyers’ foundational traits have been his release and route running acumen. However, that does not mean he’s limited to those abilities alone. There are a variety of characteristics that allow him to succeed in many facets of the game especially in the Patriots offense.
Here you’ll see a solid pivot route by Meyers. Due to his tight positioning to the offensive line with the combination of routes towards his side of the field, the cornerback covering Meyers plays off a bit, so he doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. Meyers seems to understand this.
The slow leak out is an excellent showcase of football IQ. However, Meyers displays yards after the catch ability. A nice jump cut back to the inside on the over-aggressive corner adds another element to his game.
Meyers has the football IQ to know when to settle down in open areas as well. Here he runs a curl and instead of carrying it up an additional five yards towards the corner, he settles down.
It might seem simple, but that type of IQ and reading zone coverages is a truly underrated trait. That’s also valuable for your quarterback, especially in a scramble drill.
Final Thoughts
Meyers’ ascension has been unexpected. Even if you were a fan of him pre-draft (like I was), I’m not sure I saw him breaking onto the scene as quickly as he did. Meyers is a bona fide big slot who can work outside just fine due to his releases, route running, and understanding of leverage.
Is Meyers one of the three best Patriots receivers in that position room right now? It sure does seem like it if I’m honest. Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon are the given top two, but Meyers is an excellent complement to them. He is ready to go out and play right now, which is not valid for the rest of the receivers in this corps.
I think he’ll be a sleeper fantasy football add at this point, too. There has been no indication that he will slow down as he has quality reps and production against starters as well. Furthermore, how much are you trusting Gordon at this point?
Meyers came to the New England Patriots ready to play. He’s solidified a roster spot and continues cutting his role on this team. Look out for him this season.
Nick Farabaugh is a writer for Pro Football Network’s Film Room. Follow him on Twitter @FarabaughFB.
