The Rare Trait That Makes Jakobi Meyers a Jaguars Difference-Maker

The Jacksonville Jaguars are deep into their preparations for Week 15 as they travel north on Sunday to face the New York Jets as double-digit favorites. At 9-4, the team sits at the top of the AFC South and five games over .500, inching closer to locking up a postseason spot for the first time in three years.

One of the key players in their recent success has been wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, whose football intelligence has been praised since he arrived in Jacksonville after the team acquired him from the Las Vegas Raiders. Offensive coordinator Grant Udinski has been the beneficiary of the Meyers trade, going into depth (and then some) on wideouts' feel for the game.

How Meyers has a great feel for the game

Meyers Jags — Dec 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (3) makes a touchdown catch against the Indianapolis Colts during the first half at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Since being traded to the Jaguars, Meyers has caught 22 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns, becoming an ultra-reliable target for quarterback Trevor Lawrence. What has made Meyers great for this offense is his football prowess, his feel for zones, attacking voids in coverage, and as a blocker in the run game.

For almost two minutes on Sunday, Udinski went into excellent detail on why Meyers has such a great feel on the gridiron. It starts with his feel for space, explaining the intricacies of what defenders are doing in zone coverage with different spots and landmarks they must acquire in their certain coverages.

Udinski Jags — Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski looks on during the first quarter of an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Colts 36-19. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"You see some of these teams playing zone coverage where they have defenders who have vision on the quarterback and they have different spots to get to and different landmarks or they're reading off of what our routes are to kind of determine what their drop's going to be," Udinski explained. "He has a feel for where those defenders are going, where they're trying to get to, and then where his route fits off of that."

"And that kind of takes a second and third level order of processing, not just to know we tell you to get to this spot, but this spot is going to open up because we're telling you to get to a spot that looks covered."

Furthermore, Udinski noted that a player must have a great understanding of what the defense is doing, what they're trying to do, and certain ways of either getting to a specific spot on the field or dictating the coverage, all of which Meyers possesses.

"If you have a great understanding of what the defense is doing or what the defense is trying to do, then you can run your route in a certain way to try to get to that spot on the field or to try to dictate the coverage to play a certain way," Udinski said. "Alright, now I run a route this way and I lean out a little bit, gets that defender to move out and now I opened up my window inside. Little things like that that are really subtle show up with [Meyers] when he is running routes."

However, Meyers' ability in the passing game isn't the only thing that stands out. When the Jaguars traded for him, they were also getting a great blocker in the run game, a valuable trait for players in Liam Coen's offense. Udinski said his feel for the game is seen in this area, displaying an incredible understanding of blocking angles in the run game.

"You see a lot of plays that he's making, getting down blocking safeties, blocking corners. He's blocking linebackers on some plays. And you really can only do that when there's a physical mismatch at times," Udinski said. "If you have great technique, great angles, you have a great understanding of where the run is going to go, where the blocks inside are going, because how those blocks distribute will change how the safety or the linebacker is going to trigger on the run."

Every Jakobi Meyers target from Week 11 pic.twitter.com/fqW5YtUdTv
— Gus Logue (@gus_logue) November 17, 2025

Udinski details that when a defender is keying, depending on the specific assignment, Meyers knows which angle he must take, which involves a high level of processing speed and execution in just seconds. The 29-year-old offensive coordinator said that this level of process requires a special feel and understanding for what happens on the field, a high praise toward the former N.C. State standout.

"Because they're keying, he knows, okay, the safety is keying the tight end, or the safety is keying the tackle, the tackle does this, this is what the safety's response is going to be, and because he's responding that, I have to take this angle," Udinski said. "That's a really high-level series of thought to be able to go out there and play fast and execute that type of block for just a simple run play. But to be able to process all of that so fast does require really a special feel for understanding the game of football and just a feel for space out there.”

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