10 players who will be wildly overpaid in 2023 NFL Free Agency

3. Jakobi Meyers, WR, New England Patriots

Have I mentioned that this year’s wide receiver group in NFL Free Agency is bad?

It’s bad.

Jakobi Meyers is probably the top overall player at the position when you consider his last couple of years work in the Patriots’ offense. Heck, it’s probably elevating his value that he’s been able to be as productive as he has been in that Pats offense.

Meyers isn’t a true WR1. He’s a pretty prototypical WR2 type of player whose value is pushed up considerably by the lack of talent around him in this market, and the fact that a player like Christian Kirk did so well to earn the massive payday he got in 2022 from the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Meyers’ pitch in free agency could definitely include a “look what Kirk did for the Jags” in 2022 and he should send Kirk a thank you note if he’s able to land a deal worth close to $18 million per year, or more.

Spotrac only projects Meyers to sign a deal worth $12.5 million per year, but given what we saw Christian Kirk get last offseason, that would be rather surprising. Especially considering this is a thin free agent wide receiver group, and Meyers is only 26 this season.

Perhaps NFL teams will play it safe on someone like Meyers, who didn’t come out of NC State with elite speed traits or anything. Perhaps they will look at his career 11.7 yards per reception and see a tougher road to a return on investment than someone like Christian Kirk, who at least had 17 touchdowns in his first four NFL seasons compared to the eight for Meyers.

One way or another, in this free agent market, Meyers is shaping up to be one of the most overpaid players until proven otherwise.