Jakobi Meyers took a major step forward in 2020 when he acted as Julian Edelman’s replacement after the receiver suffered an injury early in the season. Meyers’ emergence felt a lot like when Edelman stepped in for an injured Wes Welker on multiple occasions, ultimately supplanting the standout in 2013 when Welker left for Denver.
That seems like the natural cycle for slot receivers in New England, with players like Meyers, a quarterback-turned-receiver at NC State, and Edelman emerging from relative obscurity. It seems Meyers is trying to follow in Edelman’s footsteps in more ways than one. Following practice on Tuesday, Meyers said that Julian Edelman “played with no fear… just trying to emulate that.”
Jakobi Meyers: Julian Edelman “played with no fear… just trying to emulate that.” pic.twitter.com/xHsPUdkoyE
— Chris Mason (@ByChrisMason) August 17, 2021
Patriots receivers coach Troy Brown, who is the godfather of the slot position in New England, reflected upon how Meyers has emerged as the team’s top option in that spot.
“I think he just sat back and he watched Julian do it for the last two or three years. Took down some notes and he incorporated it into his game,” Brown told reporters earlier during training camp. “It took a lot of hard work for him to get to a point where he felt comfortable going in there to work it.
“He earned the right to play in there the last couple years and now he’s gotta fight for a spot to go out there and do it again this year,” Brown went on. “But that’s really all he did. He just sat back and he watched. He studied tape. He came out here and did it against the air. Did it against players. It didn’t always look pretty at times, but you’ve gotta go through that if you want to have a spot on this football team. And it’s going to be ugly at times, but you’ve gotta live with that.”
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