Jakobi Meyers keeps getting selected earlier than Kendrick Bourne, and I don’t understand why. Bourne, in my opinion, is the best of the New England receivers – better than Meyers, and better than DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor and Tyquan Thornton.
Bourne caught fewer passes than Meyers last year, but he was more impactful. He averaged over 4 more yards per reception. He was also more effective, catching 79 percent of the passes thrown his way. Meyers tends to work out of the slot and run shorter routes, but he caught only 66 percent of his targets.
With the combination of the high catch rate and the downfield roues, Bourne averaged 11.4 yards per target last year. That’s an unusually good number. Among wide receivers with at least 50 targets (and there were 89 of them), only Deebo Samuel averaged more yards per pass play.
The Patriots also use Bourne on end-arounds, allowing him to pick up some superfluous stats.
The production numbers from last year suggest Bourne will be their top guy. Setting aside the Monday night game at Buffalo (played in a windstorm), Bourne averaged over 2 more points (PPR scoring) per week than Meyers last year in the team’s final 11 games. Bourne in those games allowed 4 catches for 54 yards, with 5 TDs, with an additional 10 yards per week as a runner.
Meyers those 11 games caught 9 more passes, but with 137 fewer yards and 3 fewer touchdowns.
Bourne in my opinion should be picked sooner. But in the mock draft in the magazine, Meyers went three rounds earlier, and he went for $3 more in the auction. In an ongoing Fanex draft, Meyers went in the 11th round; I selected Bourne over two rounds later (a few picks after DeVante Parker).
| BOURNE VERSUS MEYERS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Wk | Opp | Score | No | Yds | TD | Run | PPR |
| Kendrick Bourne | 19 | at Buff. | L 17-47 | 7 | 77 | 2 | 14 | 28.1 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 10 | Cle. | W 45-7 | 4 | 98 | 1 | 43 | 24.1 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 12 | Ten. | W 36-13 | 5 | 61 | 2 | 0 | 23.1 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 3 | N.O. | L 13-28 | 6 | 96 | 1 | 0 | 21.6 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 17 | Jac. | W 50-10 | 8 | 73 | 1 | 0 | 21.3 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 3 | N.O. | L 13-28 | 9 | 94 | 0 | 0 | 18.4 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 4 | T.B. | L 17-19 | 8 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 10 | Cle. | W 45-7 | 4 | 49 | 1 | 0 | 14.9 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 7 | NYJ | W 54-13 | 4 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 14.8 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 12 | Ten. | W 36-13 | 5 | 98 | 0 | 0 | 14.8 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 6 | Dall. | L 29-35 | 1 | 75 | 1 | 0 | 14.5 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 17 | Jac. | W 50-10 | 5 | 76 | 0 | 17 | 14.3 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 16 | Buff. | L 21-33 | 6 | 59 | 0 | 0 | 11.9 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 6 | Dall. | L 29-35 | 5 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 11.4 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 15 | at Ind. | L 17-27 | 6 | 44 | 0 | 9 | 11.3 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 18 | at Mia. | L 24-33 | 4 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 4 | T.B. | L 17-19 | 5 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 10.8 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 1 | Mia. | L 16-17 | 6 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 10.4 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 19 | at Buff. | L 17-47 | 6 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 5 | at Hou. | W 25-22 | 4 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 9.6 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 8 | at LAC | W 27-24 | 4 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 9.6 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 7 | NYJ | W 54-13 | 5 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 9.4 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 15 | at Ind. | L 17-27 | 3 | 44 | 0 | 19 | 9.3 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 11 | at Atl. | W 25-0 | 4 | 42 | 0 | 7 | 8.9 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 11 | at Atl. | W 25-0 | 4 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 7.9 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 8 | at LAC | W 27-24 | 4 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 2 | at NYJ | W 25-6 | 4 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 5 | at Hou. | W 25-22 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 12 | 6.8 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 9 | at Car. | W 24-6 | 3 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 6.4 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 18 | at Mia. | L 24-33 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 8 | 6.2 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 16 | Buff. | L 21-33 | 2 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 5.3 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 2 | at NYJ | W 25-6 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 4.6 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 1 | Mia. | L 16-17 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 9 | at Car. | W 24-6 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 13 | at Buff. | W 14-10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .3 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 13 | at Buff. | W 14-10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 |
—Ian Allan