Undrafted rookie wide receiver Jakobi Meyers has made an impression on Coach Bill Belichick and Tom Brady during the Patriots’ preseason camp. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — When Tom Brady drops back to throw, there’s one player he seems to be looking for a lot.
Undrafted rookie Jakobi Meyers has captured Brady’s attention. After nine practices, Meyers has emerged from the pack as a Brady favorite.
And why not?
Every practice, whether at New England Patriots camp in Foxborough, Massachusetts, or this week at the Detroit Lions’ practice facility, he tends to make at least one highlight reel film catch. Every practice, he runs great routes and is in the exact place Brady needs him to be.
Watching Meyers go up against the Lions, the 6-2, 200-pound wideout was tough on any defender who attempted to cover him. During the one-on-one drills Monday, he made a leaping grab along the sideline. He managed to hold onto the football as he tumbled backward to the ground. He’s made several acrobatic catches just like that in previous practices.
But that play just got his day started. The 23-year-old made several more head-turners to go along with others that seemed run-of-the-mill by comparison.
The fact Meyers essentially gave the Lions a healthy sampling of what he’s been doing in Foxborough, and even took it up a notch, has to bode well for the former North Carolina State receiver, who is looking to secure a job with the defending Super Bowl champions.
What’s been the impression on Brady thus far? The Patriots’ quarterback basically told the media he’s going to throw to the open guy. Of late, that’s been Meyers, who led the receivers group with four catches on six attempts.
“He’s done a great job and he’s taken advantage of his opportunities. I think that’s really what we try to stress to anybody. It really doesn’t matter – the football doesn’t care how old you are, whether you were drafted or not. The football doesn’t care how much experience you have,” Brady told reporters after the joint practice session. “It just knows that when I let that ball go, it’s got to be in the hands of the guy who it’s intended for. If that happens to be him, it’s him. If it’s Julian (Edelman), it’s Julian. Whoever it is, it doesn’t matter in football.”
In that light, Meyers fits well in the Patriots’ offense because he knows how to get open. He also knows how to read coverages well. Just those two qualities alone get you halfway to binkie status with Brady.
His skills and ability also allow him to be pretty versatile. He can play in the slot, as he did at N.C. State, or he can play on the outside. He’s not blazing fast, but his strong hands and leaping ability make it work.
He also has those high-flying, crazy-style catches down, like last week when he tipped a long ball from Jarrett Stidham to himself for a touchdown.
He didn’t start camp with the first-teamers, but has worked his way up the depth chart. And with Edelman out with a broken thumb, Meyers has taken over as Brady’s go-to-guy for the time being.
When it came time for the no-huddle against the Lions, Brady immediately went to Meyers. The duo had a string of nine completions on nine targets dating back to last week before Meyers couldn’t come up with a low delivery from Brady.
Perhaps the fact Meyers was once a quarterback (like Edelman) and played the position as late as his first year at college before converting to receiver, has helped with the nuances of the offense.
Coach Bill Belichick made note of that last week when asked about the receiver.
“He’s a smart kid and he understands, and has versatility, understands the offense,” Belichick said. “Like any rookie, any young player, there’s a lot of things he needs to work on technique-wise – recognition, route adjustments – just a lot of fine points. He basically knows what to do, but there are a lot of subtleties and nuances that all receivers need to pick up – certainly in our offense – and he’s doing that.
“There’s more than we’ve had to get down, but he’s making progress there. Whether that comes from his quarterback background, or his experience, or his intelligence, or his learning, I’m not really sure. But that’s not really an issue. He’s a smart kid, and he learns well.”
Edelman, who is Brady’s only true go-to-guy left in the receiving corps, can’t be the only one Brady trusts when the season starts. Closing in on three weeks of training camp, it looks like Meyers is on his way to being another.
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