While we’re still waiting for the Davante Adams trade to happen, Adams’ time with the Las Vegas Raiders is expected to come to an end soon which will reshuffle the Raiders’ depth chart at wide receiver.
The most significant change will be Jakobi Meyers getting elevated as the team’s “No. 1 wide receiver” moving forward. Especially considering that Meyers is under contract through next season, it’s a fair question to ask if he’s capable of filling that role.
Taking a look at the beginning of the six-year veteran’s career, he did have several seasons where he served as the New England Patriots’ top pass-catcher.
In 2020, his second year in the league, Meyers led the Patriots with 59 catches for 729 yards while only making nine starts in 14 games. Granted, he didn’t have much competition for the role as a 34-year-old Julian Edelman was the most recognizable name in the receiving corps. Edelman suited up for just six contests in what was his final NFL season.
But the following year the former Patriot repeated his efforts, leading the team with 83 catches for 866 yards. He served as Mac Jones’ unquestioned top target with 126 passes coming his way, over 50 more than any other player. Also, New England bolstered its receiving corps in the offseason with tight end Hunter Henry and wide receivers Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor.
Meyers had a similar performance in 2022, hauling in 67 catches—second on the team behind running back Rhamondre Stevenson—and leading the Pats by about 270 yards with 804 yards.
The wideout also recorded what was, at the time, a career-high six touchdowns before eclipsing that mark a year later in Las Vegas with eight scores. In addition to the names above, the Patriots added DeVante Paker to compete for targets that season.
So, Meyers does have a decent track record of producing while commanding an opponent’s attention as his team’s top threat in the passing game. However, not producing a 1,000-yard (or even 900-yard for that matter) campaign doesn’t exactly scream “No. 1 receiver”. In fairness to him, having an aging Cam Newton, Jones and Bailey Zappe throwing the ball isn’t exactly a great running mate to crack the four-digit mark.
While production is important, a wideout’s skillset is also an indication of their capabilities to fill the role in question. A true top target will be able to make an impact in all areas of the field; behind the line of scrimmage (screens), short (zero to nine yards past the line), intermediate (10 to 19 yards) and deep (20 or more yards).
Meyers has made a career out of being effective in the short to intermediate areas of the field. He’s good at finding holes in zone coverage and can snap off dig and curl routes to get open against man.
For example, last season he logged 57 catches for 630 yards on such targets, accounting for 80.3 percent and 78.1 percent of his production in those respective categories, per Pro Football Focus.
However, the wideout lacks the speed to be a consistent deep threat and doesn’t have the elusiveness to be a big factor in the screen game. Hence the underwhelming production in those areas of the field, which has been consistent throughout his career.
Building on the skillset, a go-to receiver is someone a quarterback can trust to come down with catches when the team needs it the most.
One way to check that box is by excelling on 50/50 balls and Meyers has a good track record of success in that department, hauling in 61.7 percent of contested targets in his career, via PFF. Last season was his lowest contested catch percentage (52.4%) and that still ranked 22nd among wide receivers with at least 35 total targets during the regular season.
Another way to be a go-to receiver is by creating separation, which is where the 27-year-old falls into the average category. According to Next Gen Stats, he generated 2.7 yards of separation per target last season and is at 2.6 yards so far in 2024. Both figures rank toward the middle of the pack for the league.
Ultimately, Meyers is more of a high-end second option but doesn’t quite fit the billing of a true “No. 1 wide receiver”. There’s no problem with that, but the Raiders will be looking for a go-to target out wide once Adams is no longer with the club.