Former New England Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers was not afraid to call out his former organization for not putting quarterback Mac Jones in a good position to succeed.
Meyers was taken by New England as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2019. He was around for the end of the Tom Brady era, one year with Cam Newton and two years with Jones, before signing a free-agent deal with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023.
He recorded 71 catches for 807 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns with the Raiders. His best NFL season came with Jones at quarterback in 2021, when he hauled in 83 receptions for 866 yards.
Meyers wasn’t afraid to call out his former team for not putting the right talent around their franchise quarterback.
“Honestly, man, I really don’t like it,” Meyers told NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry, as transcribed by Boston.com’s Conor Ryan. “And this isn’t a knock on Zap (Bailey Zappe), because Zap is a dog too. I like my boy, I’m happy he’s doing well too. But man, how that went down with Mac, I kind of watched it all unfold the last couple of years and I feel like you could’ve seen it a couple years ago and tell that it would end up bad.
“I don’t like singling people out, but I think they had to meet him a little bit more. ‘Cause I know he’s in the building working. I can’t name too many people working harder than him. I hate to see it for him, I really do.”
Meyers’ points aren’t coming out of thin air.
The lack of quality offensive talent is something many have noticed during Jones’ tenure in New England. However, the good news is the Patriots have an opportunity to turn things around with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft and a bunch of cash to spend in free agency.
Tough decisions lie ahead, but the right choices could position New England better for the future.
