About 18 months ago, Jakobi Meyers, then a freshman, took snaps at quarterback in NC State’s spring game. Fast forward back to 2017, and a potential dream season in Raleigh, and Meyers has carved out a niche for himself in Eliah Drinkwitz’s offense as a dangerous X-factor.
NC State’s offense revolves around Jaylen Samuels and Nyheim Hines with Ryan Finley functioning as distributor. Kelvin Harmon is a special deep-ball talent; Steph Louis is rather productive, too. The Wolfpack have another weapon that’s starting to
Meyers is one of only 11 players in the ACC with at least 25 receptions, 300 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Not too shabby for a converted quarterback.
Found efficiency
Quarterback Ryan Finley has been rather efficient this season — his second year at NC State. Finley is completing more than 69 percent of his passes, and averages 8.8 yards per attempt. A product of that is a roster full of receivers with high catch rates, led by Jaylen Samuels. Jakobi Meyers, however, has held his own, too.
NC State has five players with at least 20 targets on the season; all five of those players have catch rates above 63 percent, according to Football Study Hall.
| Targets | REC | Catch Rate | Yards Per Catch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaylen Samuels | 63 | 54 | 85.7% | 8.4 |
| Kelvin Harmon | 57 | 36 | 63.2% | 15.2 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 39 | 26 | 66.7% | 11.9 |
| Steph Louis | 35 | 25 | 71.4% | 14.1 |
| Nyheim Hines | 23 | 16 | 69.6% | 5.6 |
Meyers is the third most targeted player on NC State’s roster; roughly 15 percent of the team’s passes have gone in his direction.
Moveable Sticks
Through the first seven games of 2017, Meyers has proven to be a reliable source for Finley. Of his 26 receptions, Meyers has recorded 18 receptions that have gone for touchdowns or first downs, per cfbstats.com.
Meyers is tied for ninth in the ACC with eight receptions on third down. According to cfbstats.com, seven of those catches have gone for first downs. He has clearly responded to his DNP against Furman in week three.
Earlier in the season, Meyers was of course the guy broke the game in Tallahassee against No. 12 Florida State with a 71-yard catch-run-flip-touchdown.
Look at that, he stuck the landing. If Meyers can continue to contribute on the perimeter for the Wolfpack, the offense becomes even more of a challenge to defend. Harmon and Louis draw coverage down the field; Samuels and Hines occupy brain space in the head of every defensive coordinator. Match-ups will be in Meyers’ favor, which makes him one of the nation’s premier X-factors.
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