One of the biggest questions awaiting the New England Patriots in the offseason pertains to the expiring contract of wideout Jakobi Meyers.
The former undrafted free agent went from unproven rookie to one of the top slot receivers in the game. Coach Bill Belichick has missed too many times to count at the receiver position, but he clearly knocked it out of the park with Meyers.
But will the Patriots be able to keep him?
NBC Sports Boston’s Albert Breer recently broke down what he expects the price range to be for Meyers on the open market. Belichick typically isn’t known for being a big spender at the receiver position. So he isn’t likely to break the bank for Meyers if the price is much more than expected.
“There’s very clear value internally for Jakobi Meyers,” said Breer. “I think there’s another player that this sort of marries up with as far as free agency goes and value goes. And that’s a receiver named Cedrick Wilson, who came up in the [Dallas] Cowboys system similarly to how Jakobi Meyers has come up here.
“Wilson kept getting better and better and more reliable over the years. The Cowboys wound up letting him go after the year last year. He winds up signing in Miami and getting a three-year, $22.5 million contract. So, I think that’s right around the ballpark of what Jakobi Meyers is looking at for a similar player. I think he’s sort of similar to Wilson.”
"I think that's the sort of deal that Jakobi Meyers is going to be looking at."@AlbertBreer shares an interesting comparison for the Patriots' WR1, who will be a free agent this offseason 👀 pic.twitter.com/RKj88HcWv4
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) November 6, 2022
Keep in mind, the Patriots locked up Nelson Agholor on a two-year, $22 million deal in 2020.
Agholor didn’t even come close to living up to expectations, and that money would have been better served going to Meyers anyway. The Patriots will still need a No. 1 receiver with the ability to take the top off defenses, even if they manage to keep Meyers around with a contract extension.
But shoring up the slot with a reliable playmaker would at least ensure a strong foundation for hopefully a much-improved receiving corps in 2023.
