Tag: Jakobi Meyers

11 Patriots veterans who will be on the roster bubble in 2020

There will be no shortage of roster battles in New England.

The New England Patriots added 10 rookies in the 2020 NFL Draft, and signed a handful more afterwards, which should inject youth into one of the league’s older rosters in 2019. Tom Brady is gone. Stephen Gostkowski is gone. And New England seems intent upon replacing them with younger players.

The youth movement could continue into training camp, with a number of veterans losing their jobs to this rookie class. What’s more, there is a decent free agent class of low-budget additions who should be in competition for roster spots — but they may also be on the bubble.

Here’s a look at which veterans will be fighting for their jobs.

Matt LaCosse, TE

The arrival of two rookies could bring an end to LaCosse’s tenure with New England. It’s likely that rookie tight end Devin Asiasi arrives to the Patriots as a bigger contributor than LaCosse, who struggled to make an impact in 2019. LaCosse has as good a chance as anyone to get the third tight end spot behind Asiasi and Dalton Keene, the other 2020 third-round draft choice at tight end. But after LaCosse’s supremely rough season, New England could go the way of one of the undrafted rookie tight ends for the third spot.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11

Rookie WRs N’Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers step up when Patriots needed them most

The Patriots beat the Cowboys with only four active wide receivers in Week 12 — one of which was Matthew Slater.

The New England Patriots walked away with a hard-fought win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 12.

The low-scoring 13-9 battle reflected the rainy conditions and the lack of offensive firepower for both teams. New England found out before the game that they would be without Phillip Dorsett and Mohamed Sanu — leaving them with four active wide receivers. Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers and Matthew Slater were the only targets that Tom Brady had at the wide receiver position.

Edelman is the only receiver out of this group to record more than 15 NFL catches. He finished the game with eight catches and 93 yards on 12 targets.

Rookie wide receivers Harry and Meyers were expected to step up, and that’s exactly what they did. They didn’t put up game-changing numbers, but they both provided just enough to help walk away with a victory.

Harry recorded the only touchdown of the game on a back-shoulder acrobatic catch in the redzone. The ten-yard touchdown reception was the first of his career and it put enough points on the board to slide past Dallas.

Meyers finished the game with four catches for 74 yards and he took numerous big hits without having to leave the field. Meyers’ longest catch was for 32 yards and it was mostly due to breaking tackles and gaining yards after the catch.

Brady talked about the young receivers in his postgame press conference and had nothing but good things to say.

“They played a lot of plays. Proud of those two,” Brady said. “They put a lot of effort in this week. They’re making improvements and it’s great to see. They both came through with some big plays for us.”

The Patriots added left tackle Isaiah Wynn to the mix against Dallas and had some positives to take away from the game. With a healthy receiving corps and an upgraded offensive line, the Patriots’ offense should begin to ascend with playoffs around the corner.

[vertical-gallery id=74890]

5 takeaways from Patriots’ hard-fought victory over Cowboys

Here are five takeaways from the Patriots — win over the Cowboys.

The New England Patriots improve to 10-1 after defeating the Dallas Cowboys 13-9 in a bad weather, sloppy game.

Offensively, the Patriots did just enough to squeak by with Mohamed Sanu and Phillip Dorsett missing from the lineup. Defensively, this unit showed up once again and slowed down the NFL’s most productive offense. The Patriots had an up-and-down performance from the special teams unit — but, Matthew Slater’s blocked punt changed the momentum of the game.

New England’s offensive line showed improvement with the addition of Isaiah Wynn and they’ll look better when the receiving corps regains their health. The Patriots aren’t the orthodox 10-1 team, but the defensive talent and coaching is keeping this team afloat.

Here are five takeaways from the game.

Young receivers make necessary plays for a victory

Without Sanu and Dorsett in the lineup, the Patriots had a dire need for their young receivers to step up and make plays.

The only active receivers heading into the game were Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers and Matthew Slater. Considering the fact that Slater doesn’t play offensive snaps, Tom Brady had very few offensive options to work with. Fortunately for New England, the young guys stepped up and made enough plays for a win.

Harry kicked off the day with a ten-yard back-shoulder touchdown catch — which was the only touchdown of the day. He recorded his first NFL touchdown and showed the ability to highpoint the ball and make impactful plays in the redzone. Meyers, an undrafted rookie, was able to pull in four catches for 72 yards. Brady’s trust was primarily in Meyers and Edelman, and both receivers accounted for 21 targets.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

With injuries at WR, Patriots will rely on rookies N’Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers

The Patriots will head into Week 12 with a depleted wide receiving corps. 

The New England Patriots will head into Week 12 with a depleted wide receiving corps.

New England has struggled with depth at wide receiver all season, but the addition of Mohamed Sanu shored up some uncertainties. That was until he sustained an ankle injury in Week 11 that could potentially keep him sidelined for a couple of weeks. He’s heading into the Patriots’ Week 12 matchup as a game-time decision, and veteran wideout Phillip Dorsett was ruled out.

This leaves the Patriots with Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers and Matthew Slater. Considering the fact that Slater will primarily play special teams – the Patriots will only have three active wide receivers if Sanu can’t go. Edelman is the only player in this unit with over 200 receiving yards this season, and he’s the only one to truly have Tom Brady’s trust.

As an undrafted rookie, Meyers has put together 15 catches for 179 yards so far this season. He hasn’t played a major role in the offense, but he’s showed reliability when his number has been called. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, Meyers provides a big and reliable target for Brady, but experience isn’t on his side heading into this marquee matchup.

Harry is finally healthy and ready to make an impact for the Patriots, but he doesn’t have enough talent around to free him up. He’ll get more attention from the Cowboys’ secondary, and it’ll be a test to see if his first-round talent can translate to a big game. In Harry’s NFL debut last week, he was able to pull in three catches for 18 yards.

Not only will the Patriots battle a lack of depth, they’ll also contend against the weather conditions. The game will be sloppy and full of rain, so it’ll be that much more difficult for these young receivers.

The Patriots will likely rely on the rushing attack in these conditions, while hoping for some big plays from their young guys.

[vertical-gallery id=74890]