New England Patriots’ mid-season wide receiver report
Let’s take a look at the Patriots‘ mid-season wide receiver report as we head into week nine.
Before the season started, we predicted who would lead the Patriots in receiving touchdowns. In that category we evaluated Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor and Tyquan Thornton.
The pre-season prediction was that Jakobi Meyers would lead the team in receiving touchdowns. Has that prediction come to fruition so far? Yes.
Heading into week nine, the 25-year-old receiver from NC State, is leading the Patriots in receiving yards (415) and has recorded 35 of 46 (76%) targets – per ESPN. Meyers has tallied three touchdowns, putting him in first place amongst the other Patriots’ wide receivers.
Jakobi Meyers has improved significantly every season of his career.
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 30, 2022
Became the team’s true WR1 in his second season once Edelman went down.
Last year he added downfield threat to his resume.
This year he’s scoring touchdowns and making YAC plays regularly.
Parker, Agholor, Thornton and Ty Montgomery all have one touchdown each, while Bourne has yet to score one. Kendrick Bourne has been sidelined, literally and figuratively, a lot this season. This comes as a surprise since he was a solid option downfield for Mac Jones in 2021. This year brought on a whole slew of problems for Bourne, including a new offensive coordinator, injured quarterbacks and trade rumors.
When asked “who is one other player you’re looking to start delivering consistent impacts [aside from Meyers and Stevenson]?”, Patriots Writer Fred Kirsh said “Really, any other receiver besides Meyers. I’ll go with Bourne. We know he has the ability but I’m at a loss as to why he’s not productive this year.”
Don’t count out Bourne just yet – the second half of the season could be all about #84.
With Jones back as QB1, Meyers’ targets are going to go up significantly. Last year he led the team in receptions but had little scoring to show for it. This year, Meyers is converting those yards into points. The Jones-Meyers combination is only getting stronger.
However, Jakobi still has competition amongst his teammates. Parker is right behind him in receiving yards (321) with Agholor trailing close (227). Will Meyers finish out the second half of the season still in the lead? Or will another receiver from the core step up and take it home?