In week eleven, Jakobi Meyers disappointed fantasy managers who grabbed him on the waiver wire with a paltry three receptions for 38 yards. Meyers’ lack of targets this past week has some people wondering if his previous four-game stretch was a fluke. I decided to take a deep dive and watch every Patriots offensive snap since week seven to determine Jakobi Meyers’ fantasy football value.
Jakobi Meyers’ Offensive Role
Jakobi Meyers started to make his presence known in the New England Patriots passing game in week seven. Since week eight, he has been on the field for at least 98% of the team’s snaps. Since week nine, he has led all Patriots receivers in snap count. Every week, it appears that the Patriots have been relying on him more and more. Unfortunately for Jakobi Meyers, the Patriots passing game is a complete mess. If you have been watching the Patriots offense this year, I’m sorry. Once my eyes stopped bleeding, I decided to look over the Patriots’ offensive passing stats and I was not surprised by what I found.
New England has the sixth-fewest passing yards in the NFL and the fewest passing touchdowns. The Patriots have six passing touchdowns in ten games, which is an insane number when you think about it. Imagine averaging half a touchdown per game in the modern NFL. When you add the fact that the Patriots also have the third-most interceptions, I walked away even more impressed by what Meyers has done.
Jakobi Meyers’ Production
Since week seven, Jakobi Meyers has 40 targets, 30 receptions, and 384 receiving yards. Unfortunately, over that time span, he also has 0 receiving touchdowns. Over that time span, only five receivers have over 40 targets, 30 receptions, and over 380 receiving yards — Davante Adams, Keenan Allen, Tyler Lockett, Diontae Johnson, and Meyers.
Of those five receivers, only one doesn’t have a QB1 throwing to him: Jakobi Meyers. The rest of those offenses are top-ten scoring offenses in the passing game. Diving further into those stats, of those same five receivers, only two receivers average over 12 yards per reception and over 9 yards per target: Jakobi Meyers and Davante Adams. In this context, Meyers’ production is remarkable.
Jakobi Meyers Absurdity Check
Jakobi Meyers’ numbers over the past five weeks don’t even tell the whole story. Meyers has had 4 catches for 65 yards called back for penalties on offense this week. Whether it is from an offensive holding penalty or Cam Newton continuing the Patriots long and storied tradition of killing their receivers on poor passes over the middle, Jakobi Meyers is being put in a position to fail. Yet somehow, inexplicably, he is succeeding in spite of the Patriots.
Perhaps the craziest thing of all about Jakobi Meyers is that he is only rostered in 65% of fantasy leagues. All of the previously mentioned receivers are rostered in over 95% of all leagues. I am not trying to say that Meyers is as good a receiver as the players mentioned above. He isn’t. I am saying that since he became a focal point of the Patriots’ offense, his numbers are on par with the best receivers in fantasy except for one important category – touchdowns.
Jakobi Meyers has more passing touchdowns this year than he does receiving touchdowns. This is almost as insane as his roster percentage. In case I haven’t made it clear, Meyers should be rostered in all formats and it is patently absurd that he isn’t already.
If this has you hankerin’ for some fantasy sports, try out Fan Duel! That link lets them know we sent you! It also gets you a bonus match with a deposit!
Then, follow Football Absurdity on Twitter!
After that, get free fantasy football advice by joining our Discord!
Finally, if you like what you read here, check out our podcast and our Patreon
