Jakobi Meyers not practicing on Sunday

Meyers missed some time late in training camp with a thumb issue that forced him to wear a brace on his right hand. Coen specifically said that Brian Thomas Jr. (shoulder) was practicing in full and didn’t say the same about Meyers. It’s possible the team is working Meyers in more slowly as the season approaches. Still, even a limited practice more than a week ahead of Week 1 should put Meyers in line to play. Meyers will be in a supporting role behind Parker Washington and Brian Thomas Jr. this year. He will be a low-end FLEX play for the Jags’ opener versus Cleveland.

This might not matter, but it is worth noting. The Florida Times-Union recently reported that Jaguars WR Jakobi Meyers (thumb) is sidelined, as is WR Brian Thomas (shoulder). Both picked up minor injuries recently, but according to Shipley, the team does not “seem overly concerned” about either issue. Cameron and fellow sixth-round rookie WR CJ Williams have had good training camps. Cameron is evidently the name to know for waiver wire purposes in-season.

Meyers is not playing in tonight’s preseason game, but he was spotted wearing the brace on the sideline pre-game. Sports Illustrated’s John Shipley chimed in to confirm that Meyers is indeed wearing “something” on his right hand, but we don’t know anything beyond that. For now, just keep an eye on this. There is no reason to panic. One of the beat reporters will likely follow up on this in the coming days. A report from earlier this week indicated that Meyers is one of two wide receivers currently leading the receiving corps in training camp snaps, suggesting he may have secured the No. 2 wide receiver role in what should be a productive offense this year.

While Washington, WR Brian Thomas Jr. and CB/WR Travis Hunter draw headlines, Meyers has seemingly positioned himself for the No. 2 role in the Jaguars’ wide receiver corps. Meyers led the Jaguars in targets (63) and receptions (43) after his Week 10 trade from the Raiders. Meyers is absolutely worth drafting as a WR3/FLEX candidate in what could be quite a PPR-friendly role.

That would mean Thomas is set to play on the outside at the line of scrimmage. Parker Washington will presumably play in the slot with Jakobi Meyers and Travis Hunter fighting for flanker duties. As Wolfe notes, Liam Coen learned last year that going over the middle of the field and taking hits isn’t BTJ’s thing. Instead, he will likely be tasked with winning deep and beating man coverage. Wolfe noted Liam Coen’s roots in the Rams’ offense and compared BTJ’s role to that of Brandin Cooks and Sammy Watkins when they played in LA. Cooks topped 1,200 receiving yards in his first season with the Rams but fell below 600 in his second and final season with the team. Watkins, meanwhile, played just one season in LA and was also held under 600 yards. All signs point to Washington being the team’s No. 1 receiver this year.

Per Shipley, Washington is now “in a full-time role on offense,” and believes the Jaguars are ready to let him “take his chance and run with it.” Jaguars coach Liam Coen said earlier this offseason that he wants to “unlock” Washington’s post-catch potential. Recently, he celebrated Washington’s ability to line up out wide, in the slot, run routes at all three levels and his improvements in reading coverages pre-snap. Last season, Coen employed three-wide receiver sets at the league’s third-highest rate (70.9 percent). If he does so again, the offense might be able to produce usable fantasy stat lines for Washington, WR Brian Thomas Jr. and WR Jakobi Meyers. If Coen shifts even 5-10 percent toward two-wide receiver sets, things could get slightly volatile. We should learn more in training camp. Stay tuned.

The Jaguars acquired Meyers via trade in Week 10 last year. He then led the Jaguars in targets (63) and receptions (43) until their season came to a close with a Wild Card Round loss to the Bills. Fellow Jaguars WRs Parker Washington and Brian Thomas Jr. have generated buzz in recent weeks, but Meyers should not be overlooked. He still has a chance to repeat as the team’s target leader this season.

NFL reporters and commentators who have suggested the Jaguars will shift Hunter to play mostly cornerback in 2026 and beyond are “completely misrepresenting” comments made by general manager James Gladstone and other front office officials, Shipley said. A lack of “media literacy,” Shipley said, has led league observers to incorrectly believe Hunter’s time as a full-time wideout are over. “At zero point have the Jaguars ever once indicated he will not play both ways, just as he did last year,” Shipley said, adding that head coach Liam Coen has “embraced the disrespect” of reporters who intentionally misinterpret what Jacksonville’s front office says. “He will just play more cornerback.” Hunter in 2025 averaged four receptions and 42 yards per game before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 7. Hunter’s offseason and preseason usage could provide some clues as to how he will be deployed in 2026. Those discounting his role as an every-down receiver may be proven wrong if Shipley is right.

With Parker Washington erupting for over 100 yards plus a score and Brian Thomas Jr. getting a touchdown of his own, there simply wans’t room in the struggling Jags’ passing game for Meyers to do much. Acquired midseason by Jacksonville, Meyers was brought in to backfill Travis Hunter’s role as a short and intermediate target for Trevor Lawrence. Meyers caught at least four passes in all but one of his nine regular season games with the Jags. The only miss was in his Jacksonville debut. He ended the year with 75 catches for 835 yards and three scores. He posted slightly better per-game numbers during his regular season appearances with the Jags. Meyers is the stable option in the Jaguars’ receiver room, but he might also have the lowest ceiling heading into 2026. Fantasy managers will likely treat him as a WR4 in early drafts.

The words “extension of the running game” come to mind looking at that line. And while it was mostly true, Meyers managed a ridiculous catch to bail Jacksonville out of third-and-long near the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. It cut the distance to a reasonable fourth-and-short that Trevor Lawrence would convert with a quarterback sneak. Meyers will be on the WR2 line in a must-win game for the Jaguars against the Titans in Week 18 to sew up the division title.