Not many people are expecting the Las Vegas Raiders to make the NFL playoffs this coming season. They have a definite hole at quarterback, where incoming second-year man Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew II are going to battle for the starting job.
But they do have some legitimate talent elsewhere on their roster.
Davante Adams is still one of the very best wide receivers in football, and they have an absolute beast in defensive end Maxx Crosby, who has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the last three seasons.
Last offseason, the Raiders brought in wide receiver Jakobi Meyers as a free agent after he spent his first four pro seasons with the New England Patriots. Meyers caught 71 passes and posted 807 receiving yards and a career-high eight touchdowns in 2023 with Las Vegas, and yet some overlook him when talking about the better No. 2 receivers in the NFL.
As a result, Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports named Meyers one of his most underappreciated players in the AFC.
“Meyers continues to be one of the more underrated receivers in the NFL,” wrote Sullivan. “While almost anyone will be lost in Davante Adams’ shadow on a given depth chart, Meyers produced in a major way in his first season with the Raiders. He was second in the team in both receptions and receiving yards, only trailing Adams. He matched his star teammate with eight receiving touchdowns but added two more on the ground to give him 10 total scores on the season (a team-high). Meyers also caught 67% of his targets.”
Could Jakobi Meyers be in for an even bigger season in 2024?
A WR2 doesn’t necessarily have to break the 1,000-yard mark to be considered an excellent player. At age 27, perhaps Meyers still has a bit of room for improvement, especially if the Raiders get their hands on a star quarterback any time soon.
After Josh McDaniels was a major disappointment as head coach (he was fired midway through last season to the relief of many fans), the team now has a head coach in Antonio Pierce who may be inexperienced but is beloved by his players. That will go a long way, as players will run through a brick wall for a coach like that, even if he is still growing as a tactician.
After starting 3-5 under McDaniels, they went 5-4 under Pierce’s leadership. Perhaps merely the improved morale that he should create and has likely already created could result in a bit of a bump in Meyers’ numbers this coming season.
