Davante Adams suggests Patriots didn't feature Jakobi Meyers enough in offense
Davante Adams shades Patriots for under-utilizing Jakobi Meyers originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Jakobi Meyers led the Patriots in receiving yards for three consecutive seasons from 2020 to 2022. But if you ask his new teammate, New England didn't use Meyers enough.
Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, who welcomed Meyers to Las Vegas in March when the wideout signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the team in free agency, believes Meyers should have been more prominently featured in the Patriots' offense.
"I didn’t see him featured as much as maybe he should have been based on what I saw when [the Patriots] came here and we practiced against them [last summer], and so far what I’ve seen from him now," Adams said of Meyers on Friday, via Case Keefer of the Las Vegas Sun. "He’s a pro. He’s got a lot of tools on the field, and the way he thinks about the game as a relatively young player is impressive to me, so I’m excited to work alongside him."
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While Meyers was the Patriots' most productive receiver in the post-Tom Brady era, the bar was low: His 804 receiving yards in 2022 ranked 37th in the NFL, and he ranked 43rd in targets with 96. Meanwhile, Adams nearly doubled Meyers' totals last season as the Raiders' No. 1 wideout, amassing 1,516 yards (third in the NFL) on 180 targets (second).
Meyers should see his production increase in Vegas under head coach Josh McDaniels and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, and admitted the opportunity to play alongside Adams made it a "no-brainer" to leave New England in free agency.
"Just to come in here and see what greatness looks like, honestly, and how I can add that to my game, it was a no-brainer," Meyers said in March.
The Patriots replaced Meyers with former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and will look to get more juice out of a passing attack that ranked 20th in the NFL last season under first-time offensive play-caller Matt Patricia. They appear to have the right man for the job, as new offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien is already making his imprint in New England.
