Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jakobi Meyers has gone from a UDFA afterthought to a legitimate NFL starter. After two straight WR3 years, is Meyers still being slept on by fantasy managers? What is his 2023 fantasy football projection?
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Jakobi Meyers’ 2023 Fantasy Projection
After this little-known UDFA caught 26 passes for 359 yards as a rookie, it was a nice story about a guy who probably never should’ve seen an NFL field earning a spot and a career.
After Meyers caught 59 passes for 729 yards as a sophomore, it was clear he belonged in the NFL, but he wasn’t necessarily someone we needed to care much about for fantasy.
After Meyers commanded a 24.4% target share in 2021 as the Patriots’ WR1, averaging 11.0 PPR fantasy points per game, it was time to take him seriously as a fantasy WR3.
Yet, entering 2022 drafts, despite the Patriots doing nothing to bolster their WR corps, Meyers was completely disrespected with an ADP outside the top 48. What did he do? He did what he’s always done — proved the doubters wrong.
Meyers had the best season of his career, averaging 12.9 ppg and finishing as a mid-WR3. He didn’t win fantasy managers any leagues, but he provided a significant positive return on investment relative to where he was drafted.
When talking about late-round players, that is all we can ask for. There will occasionally be true difference-makers, but if we can merely get one or two guys that play above their ADP, that’s winning.
Should You Draft Jakobi Meyers This Year?
Meyers has since left New England and signed with the Raiders. He will obviously no longer be a WR1, with Davante Adams occupying that role. But Meyers is going to start in two-receiver sets ahead of Hunter Renfrow. And the Raiders traded away their No. 2 option in the passing game, Darren Waller. The stage is once again set for Meyers to outperform expectations.
The Raiders had a 58% neutral-game-script-pass rate last season, the 12th-highest in the league. While not necessarily pass-heavy, they throw plenty enough. The move from Derek Carr to Jimmy Garoppolo shouldn’t change their offensive philosophy.
The departures of Waller and Mack Hollins also leave behind a ton of vacated targets. Hollins saw a 16.8% target share last season.
By no means should anyone expect Meyers to be more than he was last season. In fact, going from the Patriots’ WR1 to the Raiders’ WR2 is probably a slight downgrade. But can someone explain to me his WR58 ADP, No. 163 overall? I struggle to see a scenario where Meyers disappoints at that price.
I have Meyers at WR47, putting me above consensus for the second consecutive year. There are wide receivers going outside the top 36 with higher ceilings than Meyers. That is the only reason I’m not even higher on him, as I do think he finishes higher than WR47.
Once again, Meyers is a receiver I am actively looking to draft. If I can put him on my bench as my WR5 or WR6, he is a great plug-and-play bench option with the potential to be an every-week WR3 if things break right.
