Initial thoughts on Raiders adding Jakobi Meyers

The Las Vegas Raiders made a surprising splash in free agency Tuesday morning by agreeing to terms with New England Patriots’ wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.

Here are some early thoughts on the move:

Another New England guy:

In two offseasons thus far, new Las Vegas general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels have made four big veteran acquisitions. They are wide receiver Davante Adams, defensive end Chandler Jones, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and now Meyers. All but Adams were with Ziegler and McDaniels in New England.

Plus, the Raiders added several other former Patriots last offseason and will likely continue that trend. McDaniels loves the Patriots Way and he craves players who fit his offensive system. This is all about McDaniels and his playbook. He wants his guys and he’s getting them. He will either sink or swim with them.

Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images

What about Renfrow?

Meyers was often in the slot in New England. Of course, the Raiders have Hunter Renfrow. There were rumors earlier this offseason that Renfrow, who was oft injured last season, could be available in a trade.

Yet, Renfrow signed an extension last offseason and there would be some dead cap room involved as well as cap savings to spend elsewhere. Whatever happens, a decision will likely be made soon.

McDaniels has used multiple slots before and Meyers can play on the outside as well. While a Renfrow trade could be a possibility, so is him and Meyers co-existing in this offense.

Lots of weapons:

With Adams, Meyers, Renfrow, rushing yards title winner Josh Jacobs and tight end Darren Waller, the Raiders are loaded. Garoppolo has to be pleased and this group of weapons rivals what he had in San Francisco and could be even better. The key for McDaniels is he has more players he is comfortable with, so perhaps he will have more success than he did last year offensively.

First receiver signed:

They Raiders clearly wanted Meyers. He was the first receiver to sign in free agency. So, Las Vegas chose Meyers over Odell Beckham Jr,, JuJu Smith-Schuster and D.J. Chark.

So long, Mack:

Meyers’ arrival in Las Vegas all but ends Mack Hollins’ time in Las Vegas. He had a very nice one season in Las Vegas and he was a core special teamer. Hollins is said to be looking for a multi-year deal. Hollins had 57 catches for 690 yards as the No. 2 to Adams. Hollins had 56 catches in his first four NFL seasons combined.

What about the offensive line and defense?

The Raiders are loaded with offensive skill position pieces. But after spending good chunks of their salary-cap room on a quarterback and a wide receiver, there is less resources for the other needs and there are a lot of needs. Las Vegas needs help on the offensive line and at all layers of the defense. Yes, they have 11 draft picks, but most of those picks are on Day Three. The defense needs to get better for 2023 and while Meyers is a nice addition, is spending big on a receiver a bit of a luxury when there are so many needs?

Meyers has a sense of humor:

Meyers will always be remembered for a bone-headed gaffe that gave the Raiders a win as time expired against the Patriots at Allegiant Stadium last December when he threw a lateral right to Las Vegas defensive end Chandler Jones, who easily scored. All Meyers had to do was keep the ball and the game would have went to overtime. To his credit, Meyers handled the embarrassing moment well after the game and took full blame and answered every question about it from media members. Now, Meyers moves on as a Raider and the fan base hopes he helps them get many more victories.