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Jakobi Meyers Lives Up To Hype In Preseason Debut, Offers Promise For Patriots Offense

By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- There may be no player in any camp this summer on a more rapid track than Jakobi Meyers.

That may seem like hyperbole, but the undrafted rookie receiver out of NC State has drawn nothing but high praise from coaches, teammates and analysts all summer long. And on Thursday night, with his first chance to show that he could translate those abilities into a live football game, Meyers capitalized in a big way.

The rookie didn't catch the first pass thrown his way in Thursday night's preseason opener in Detroit. But from there, Meyers was almost unstoppable.

Meyers caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brian Hoyer to give New England a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter, Meyers caught two other passes for 18 yards earlier in that drive, which went for 87 yards on 13 plays over 7:51.

On the next Patriots drive, Meyers hauled in a touchdown pass from rookie Jarrett Stidham, putting the Patriots up by three scores.

Meyers opened the second half with a 17-yard reception, and he ended up with six receptions for 69 yards and the two touchdowns on the night. He led the Patriots in all three categories.

That's not bad for an undrafted rookie who converted from quarterback to receiver during his collegiate career.

"It felt great. It felt great to play football, honestly," Meyers said after the 31-3 win. "I'm just trying to embrace it all, slow the game down, continue to get better every day."

It was, quite obviously, a statement type of game for Meyers. An arrival. Yet, in part because it was only a preseason game, and in part because he works for Bill Belichick, Meyers was not looking to spike any footballs after the game when he was asked if he was trying to prove people wrong for failing to draft him last April.

"Um, not really, because I don't have time to really think about what I have to prove to people that don't … I don't want to say don't matter. But I have to keep proving to my coaches that I deserve to be here. I'm not on the team yet," Meyers said. "I'm trying to make sure I can stay here and continue to be here. So that's who I'm' trying to prove a point to -- not the people who didn't give me a call, you know?"

Still, Meyers soaked in the opportunity to let everybody -- those he knows and those he does not -- see him play at the NFL level.

"I was getting a lot of texts about, 'Oh I heard you were doing great in practice' and all. But it doesn't mean anything because we didn't have a game yet," Meyers shared. "So just the fact that I can go out there and show that I deserve to be here -- for now -- I can just try to keep pushing forward."

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Meyers admitted that his success thus far through camp and the preseason is not all his own doing. Being inside the walls of Gillette Stadium and on the practice fields has proven to be beneficial.

"I want to be great, I want to be in a position where they can depend on me and trust in me on tough downs. At the same time, we have a lot of great players on our team. And all I have to do is listen," he said. "If I'm doing what they tell them to do, then I'll just stick around."

At 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, Meyers certainly has the right size to stick around. He still has work to do if he wants to cement his spot on the roster. And he'll have infinitely more work to do if he wants to become the rare rookie to click with Tom Brady, who did not play on Thursday.

But for now, Meyers has already exceeded any and all expectations that could have been put on him entering the summer. It would have been difficult for Meyers to have had a better debut than the one he had in Detroit.

You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.

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