Plus, there’s his versatility as a pass catcher, his ability to play both outside and in the slot.
“Anything thrown in his direction, he seems to somehow come down [with it],” Kelly said. “He’s got a really good understanding of coverage and schemes, where he knows how to get himself open at the appropriate time. And that’s part of it.
“We’re young at the wideout spot. But for those guys to be able to rely on someone like Jakobi, a kind of, ‘been there, done that’… that can help some of the young guys out there.”
He can also assist an incoming quarterback. Even if he already has 11 seasons of NFL experience.
“It’s my job to throw him the ball, and get it to him in the right places and make it easy on him, make the catches easy for him,” Smith said. “I know he’s going to make great catches and make me look good all the time. So my job is to make sure that I’m feeding him the ball and getting the ball in the right spots, and allow him to go out there and be great and get his shine on.”
The first time Meyers shone, so to speak? His first-ever NFL reception, courtesy of you-know-who.
It was a 22-yard pickup down the middle of the field on a pass thrown by Tom Brady late in the first quarter of the Patriots’ eventual 33-3 shellacking of the Steelers in each team’s 2019 season opener.
Now, Brady is a minority owner of the Raiders and Meyers, in a way, needs to continue to impress him…in a way. Even as Meyers, entering his third season with the Raiders, is with his third different head coach (Josh McDaniels, Antonio Pierce, Pete Carroll) and fifth different playcaller (McDaniels, Bo Hardegree, Luke Getsy, Scott Turner, Kelly).
“You’ve just got to be happy that you’re still here,” Meyers said. “You’ve still got a chance to kind of prove yourself, play on this stage and have this opportunity, honestly.”
Meyers’ mellow mien belies how productive he has been for the Raiders.
In two seasons, he has caught 158 passes on 235 targets for 1,834 yards and 12 TDs, all without preening, prancing or causing a disturbance in the locker room, let alone in an in-game huddle or sideline.
Still, these are uncharted waters for Meyers, entering a contract year off a career year.
“I’m trying to feed my family and also go out here and show that I could be a dominant football player and do the things that help the team win,” said Meyers, who caught 87 passes for 1,027 yards and 4 TDs last season.
“That’s pretty much it, honestly. Simple.”
Meyers likes Las Vegas as a city, the Raiders as an organization, and he can see a certain future. Cue the contract negotiations, then.
“Yeah, I want to be here, for sure,” he said. “But that’s all I could really say on it right now. That’s business between us and the top floor. So, I’m just going to hold that one down for now.”
In other words, that’s different [stuff] for a different day for the Raiders’ most underrated skill position player.