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After four seasons with the New England Patriots, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers joined the Las Vegas Raiders this spring, signing a three-year, $33 million deal in free agency. Meyers reunites with Josh McDaniels, slotting in as the No. 2 wideout behind Davante Adams. Meyers should be the speedy downfield playmaker the Raiders offense needs.
2023 Fantasy Football: Jakobi Meyers Profile
Recap of 2022 season
Meyers carved out a decent performance over the last season, despite the Patriots' offense averaging just over 17 points per game. He finished the season with 67 catches on 96 targets for 804 yards and a career-high six touchdowns.
Updated Raiders outlook
Outside of Adams, the Raiders offense is going to look very different this season. At quarterback, the team replaced Derek Carr with Jimmy Garoppolo. Tight end Darren Waller was replaced with veteran Austin Hooper and rookie Michael Mayer. The Raiders also brought in Phillip Dorsett and DeAndre Carter to round out the receiver depth chart behind Adams and Meyers.
With Garoppolo, the Raiders seemed focused on giving him plenty of options underneath. There’s always the possibility that they’ll try to find more offensive balance this year too, but given some of the teams they’ll have to compete against, it’s safe to expect plenty of passing.
Best-case scenario
Meyers could end up being this year’s version of Christian Kirk, who exploded for more than 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns in his first season with the Jaguars last season after several decent years with the Cardinals.
Worst-case scenario
Adams is going to take the lion’s share of the targets in this offense, and if McDaniels opts to focus on the run a little more, Meyers could always struggle to reach the kind of production levels he did in New England.
Prediction
Meyers put up solid numbers in an awful Patriots offense, and he’s landing in a better situation with a coach who knows full well what he’s capable of doing on the field. He may not hit the same kind of production levels Kirk did, but he’s got solid WR3 potential in fantasy football lineups this year.