Rookie wide receivers Gunner Olszewksi and Jakobi Meyers ‘were ready’ for Thursday’s opportunity
Olszewski and Meyers thrived in increased roles against the Giants with Phillip Dorsett and Josh Gordon injured.
Phillip Dorsett missed Thursday’s game
against the New York Giants with a hamstring injury and Josh Gordon left the contest in the second quarter and did not return after twisting his knee, elevating rookie wide receivers Gunner Olszewski and Jakobi Meyers into prominent roles during the prime-time matchup.
With a thin and unproven receiving corps outside of Julian Edelman, the duo of Olszewski and Meyers responded, combining for six catches for 88 yards during the Patriots 35-14 win over the Giants.
Meyers, an undrafted rookie from NC State, caught all four of his targets for 54 yards. He hauled in a beautiful, back-shoulder, 23-yard catch near the goal-line in the second quarter, setting up a one-yard touchdown run from Brandon Bolden.
Olszewski had been used primarily as a punt returner before Thursday’s game, but he played in three wide-receiver sets after Gordon left. The undrafted rookie from Bemidji State recorded his first NFL catch and finished the game with two receptions for 34 yards, including a 29-yard strike from Tom Brady over the middle to begin the fourth quarter.
Gunner Olszewski said teammate Jakobi Meyers was more hyped up for his first career catch than he was. Olszewski said because he handles the ball a lot on punt returns, he didn’t think as much about the first catch. pic.twitter.com/1gQ94ebtCm
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 11, 2019
Olszewski told reporters postgame how important it was for him and Meyers to be ready for the opportunity.
“Oh, we’re up in the virtual room doing walkthroughs every day after practice,” Olszewksi said. “We’re the last two out of the building every day. Troy Brown is on us, harping on us, about being ready and being one play away. That happened tonight, one play away and we were in there. We did our part. We have a lot to improve on. We’re going to watch the film and see a lot of stuff that we can improve on and do better but we’re ready to go.”
Meyers’ four receptions were a career-high, and the 22 year-old now has eight catches for 120 yards on 10 targets in five games. If Dorsett and Gordon miss more time, Meyers and Olszewski will likely be the No. 2 and No. 3 receivers on the depth chart.
“Being a Patriot, they expect you to know what to do regardless of the situation,” Meyers said. “We practiced those situations in the past, and it’s our jobs as pros to be ready for when they came up. When they came up, me and Gunner were ready. We’ve been waiting on our moment since we got here and I feel like we did a good job today.”
Edelman led the Patriots receiving corps Thursday with nine catches for 113 yards. The 10-year NFL vet was a collegiate quarterback at Kent State and was drafted in the seventh round by New England in 2009, so he is familiar with Olszewski and Meyers’s situation.
“Gun Show [Gunner Olszewski] and Kobs [Jakobi Meyers] made some really good plays,” Edelman said. “Jakobi on that back shoulder in the red area which was a huge play and Gun Show with that in cut and a couple unders. It was good to see them come in and be able to allow us to go in and run plays. Super proud of them, they are doing a really good job. We just have to keep it going and get some time down and get ready to practice and do some more.”
In the past, Brady has discussed how difficult it can be for first-year receivers to learn the playbook, but he noted how Olszewski and Meyers are working hard at it.
“I appreciate all their efforts,” Brady said. “When you’re a young player – I mean, I always said when I was young, I just was trying to be on time and not forget my playbook anywhere. These guys are kind of in a different role than that. They’re playing in games and contributing. So, again, I’m happy for those guys to come in there and help us win a game. That’s what we needed. Anyone who’s on the active roster has to be ready to go. So, it was just good for those guys to catch some balls and gain some confidence.”
