Tormenting TD: Las Vegas Raiders' Jakobi Meyers Reminds New England Patriots of Offseason Mistake
Leading up to Sunday's game against the New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders receiver Jakobi Meyers had a chip on his shoulder as he played against his former team for the first time.
Meyers spent the first four seasons of his career in New England, and eventually grew to become the Patriots' No. 1 receiver. This offseason, though, the Patriots made the controversial decision to let Meyers walk, and he then signed a three-year, $33-million contract with the Raiders. In turn, the Patriots signed former Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to a nearly identical deal, leading Meyers to tweet out "Cold world lol."
With the two receivers signing eerily similar deals, Meyers felt cast aside by the Patriots. Last week Meyers even texted Patriots teammates and staffers "," just before signing with the Raiders.
Meyers was determined to make a point against the team that let him go, and that he did by catching five passes for 61 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. Meanwhile, Smith-Schuster watched on the sideline as he dealt with a concussion he suffered in last week's loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Jakobi Meyers scored his new team's only touchdown against his old team Sunday.
This isn't just due to a small sample size either, as Meyers has consistently outperformed Smith-Schuster this season. The former now has 30 receptions for 335 yards and four touchdowns, while the latter has just 14 catches for 86 yards and has yet to find the end zone.
Meyers also missed a game earlier in the season with a concussion, so this isn't a case of him getting extra playing time either. Additionally, Meyers is also the No. 2 receiver behind Davante Adams, while the Patriots signed Smith-Schuster with the intention of him being their new No. 1.
On paper, moving on from Meyers to sign Smith-Schuster seemed to be a lateral move. They have relatively similar career production, with Smith-Schuster having the higher peak but Meyers having a better showing recently.
However, there are two factors where Meyers undeniably beats Smith-Schuster. The first is in reliability, as Meyers only missed two games throughout his time in New England while Smith-Schuster has suffered multiple injuries throughout his career, including a severe shoulder ailment that caused him to miss 12 games in 2021. The second is in chemistry, as Meyers had an undeniable connection with quarterback Mac Jones while Smith-Schuster has yet to establish such a link.
When speaking to the differences between the two receivers and how Meyers fits in better, former Patriots great Julian Edelman put it best on Fox Sports' The Herd.
"He (Meyers) could separate a lot. He could run routes. He was tough in the run game. He would go in and block (with) force. And that's what you preach as a New England receiver: get open, catch the ball, and block in the run game," Edelman said.
It's still early in both the season and both players' deals, but after Sunday's game, letting Meyers go looks to be haunting the Patriots even more.
