Jakobi Meyers’ rise from NC State quarterback-turned-receiver to NFL captain picked up another major milestone Monday, when the Jacksonville Jaguars named the former Wolfpack standout one of their eight captains for the 2026 season.
Meyers is one of three offensive captains for Jacksonville, alongside quarterback Trevor Lawrence and center Robert Hainsey. The captains were selected by a player vote, and Meyers wasn’t even in the Jaguars’ building 10 months ago.
Head coach Liam Coen singled him out while explaining the selections.
“The additions of Jakobi Meyers and Ross really gave us two new guys that weren’t on the crew last year, and they’re pretty obvious as to what their impact and influence has been on this team.” (Jags)
The captaincy is the latest step in a fast-moving Jacksonville chapter that began with a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders on November 4, 2025. The Jaguars sent 4th- and 6th-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft to Las Vegas to land the former All-ACC wide receiver.
Jacksonville didn’t wait long to lock him in. On December 19, just six weeks after the trade, the team signed Meyers to a three-year, $60 million extension.
He also made an immediate impression on the field. In nine regular-season games with Jacksonville last season, Meyers caught 42 passes for 483 yards and three touchdowns. Combined with his production in Las Vegas, he finished the 2025 season with 75 receptions for 835 yards and three touchdowns.
The Jaguars were 8-1 over their final nine regular-season games after acquiring him, and through his first six games in Jacksonville, Meyers led the team with 27 receptions, 355 receiving yards and 21 first-down catches. During that span, Jacksonville averaged 33.3 points per game, second in the NFL.
For anyone who tracked Meyers at NC State, the path to this moment has been a long one. He arrived in Raleigh as a quarterback and redshirted at that position in 2015, then switched to wide receiver a week before the 2016 season opener.
By the time he left, he had put together a decorated college career: 168 receptions, 1,932 yards and nine touchdowns. In 2018, his redshirt junior season, Meyers hauled in 92 passes for 1,047 yards, setting NC State’s single-season receptions record at the time. That total also ranked 10th in ACC history then.
Despite earning 1st Team All-ACC honors, Meyers went undrafted in 2019. The New England Patriots signed him immediately after the draft, and seven NFL seasons later he has piled up 468 catches for 5,427 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Among undrafted players who entered the league in 2019, Meyers ranks first in receptions, receiving yards and receiving first downs.
Now he enters his eighth NFL season with a $60 million contract and, for the first time, the title of team captain.
That makes his old parting words at NC State land even harder.
“I came to NC State a kid chasing two dreams. I’m leaving a man with one dream fulfilled and hopefully another on the way.” (GP)
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The challenge gets a little sharper with Richmond coming in at 2-0 and carrying some early confidence into Raleigh. The Spiders have already shown enough playmaking to be a live test, with freshman receiver Bryce Allen and tight end Sean Clarke among the names NC State has to account for, while the Wolfpack are also adjusting to life without starting linebacker AJ Richardson for the rest of the season. [Read more 🡒]