It’s wild to think about it, but Jakobi Meyers is really the most underrated player on the 2025 Las Vegas Raiders, despite his recent accolades.
This offseason, the wide receiver position has been the focus of much discussion. For all intents and purposes, Brock Bowers is the team’s top receiving option. One glance at his rookie accomplishments in 2024, and you’ll see the conversation isn’t open. In fact, having done what he did with the instability surrounding the quarterback position gives Brock that much more credence. Still, the same can go for Meyers, who recorded 1,000-plus receiving yards on his own.
Jakobi Meyers, the most reliable Raiders receiver…
When you look at the depth chart around Meyers, there’s a lot of potential but not a lot of proven, reliable talent. Rookie Jack Bech will surely have a large role, but again, he’s a rookie. Tre Tucker has shown speedy flashes but it looks like he’ll be relied upon with a bigger role. You then have more rookies, like Dont’e Thornton and Tommy Mellott, whose outcomes are unknown. It’s shocking that Meyers often goes unnoticed in the league’s “WR1” discussions, given his significant and vital role. Pro Football Focus also supports the argument that he is “underrated.”
“Meyers has established himself as a reliable second option in the passing game for the Raiders, ranking 39th in PFF receiving grade (78.2) and 17th in total targets (232) among 147 qualifying wide receivers since 2023.”
—Jonathon Macri, PFF
Macri also pointed out that once Davante Adams was out of the picture last season, Meyers was the most targeted receiver alongside Bowers. The Raiders had themselves quite the duo now and heading into this season, that will be the case again for incoming starting quarterback Geno Smith.
Meyers demonstrated unwavering reliability from Week 8 until the end of the season. He accumulated 62 receptions in that run while hauling in a trio of touchdowns. However, it is his impressive 66.7 catch percentage that truly makes the difference. Having just one drop all year probably helps his case as well, just saying. With what is projected to be a stout running game thanks to rookie Ashton Jeanty, Smith will have a dependable group of weapons that, overall, looks to carry the underrated mantle to another level.
