The question of is Jakobi Meyers playing has been one that fantasy football managers have asked a lot this year. Meyers has been a frequent name on the New England Patriots’ injury report. Let’s take a look at the latest news on Meyers’ status for Week 6 and the fantasy implications of his availability.
Update: Jakobi Meyers is active for Week 6.
Is Jakobi Meyers Playing Today?
The good news on Sunday morning is that despite his continuing knee injury, Meyers is expected to play in Week 6. Both ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the news across Saturday night and Sunday morning.
There never appeared to be a serious concern that Meyers would miss the game, but after he missed Weeks 3 and 4, it was always possible he could be out.
The Patriots’ injury report was also tricky to decipher in Week 6. They listed all of their injury concerns as limited, outside of Josh Uche, Jalen Mills, and DaMarcus Mitchell on Friday.
Therefore, there were not a huge number of clues as to the status of the players during the week. Ultimately, Meyers was listed as questionable, but then again, so was Damien Harris, who is considered a long shot to play.
What Should Fantasy Managers do With Meyers in Week 6?
If Meyers is active, he has proven himself almost impossible not to start this season. Across the three games, he has 261 receiving yards and a touchdown on 27 targets and 20 receptions.
He is averaging nine targets, 6.67 receptions, and 87 receiving yards per game when active. That has left him with an average of 14.27 fantasy points per game in half-PPR, which places him 11th at the position.
Through his first three games, Meyers has scored double-digits in fantasy points twice. In Week 1, he still managed 8.2 fantasy points, demonstrating his floor is not a complete disaster, even on his worst week of the season. Last week, Meyers saw eight of the 21 targets from QB Bailey Zappe for a tremendous 38 percent target share.
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Therefore, if he is active, there is little doubt that you look to find a way to get him into your lineup in Week 6, especially with the 2022 NFL bye week schedule having limited your options.
If Meyers is inactive, the question becomes much more tricky in regards to whether you can trust any fantasy options. Last week, Tyquan Thornton had three targets, with Nelson Agholor seeing one target and Kendrick Bourne also seeing one. Each of them might see a small bump in targets, but none of them would be expected to be 12 or 14-team relevant.
The player that might see a bump in value is Hunter Henry. Fellow tight end Jonnu Smith is also questionable, but if Meyers were to be inactive, Henry could retain his five targets from last week, regardless of whether Smith is active.
Unfortunately, the Patriots’ offense is extremely light on fantasy-relevant weapons, with Meyers and the running backs being the only serious considerations as starters in 10 or 12-team leagues.