LANDOVER, M.D. — For the first time in over nine months, former NC State wide receivers Jakobi Meyers and Kelvin Harmon played a football game on the same field. But this time, it wasn’t as teammates.
Meyers, an undrafted free agent, suited up for the New England Patriots, while Harmon donned the burgundy and gold for Washington, which drafted him in the sixth round.
Neither contributed much in the way of statistics, but for the former first-team All-ACC stars, seeing each other on the field playing in the NFL was a dream come true.
“I’m just happy to see [Harmon] out there doing his thing,” Meyers said. “He fell [in the draft] a lot so just to see that he made the team, and he’s still working hard … I’m just proud of him.”
Harmon and Meyers hit it off as friends as soon as Harmon got to NC State’s campus in 2016, and for Harmon, seeing one of his best friends live out his dream was special.
“Me and Jakobi have been friends since I got to NC State,” Harmon said. “He used to play quarterback, so we’ve always been close. Then the last two years we became close as we dominated the conference, and we just have a high level of respect for each other.”
Meyers was held to one six-yard catch, and Harmon was limited to just one catch for four yards, but both made impacts beyond the box score. With Patriots receiver Phillip Dorsett missing almost the entire game due to a hamstring injury suffered in the first quarter, Meyers received a season high in playing time.
Despite Washington’s struggles, Harmon did his part, making key blocks and serving as a solid blocker in the run game for future Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson. Meyers lined up all over the field, in the slot, as an “X” receiver on the outside and as a “Z” receiver on the far side, running routes and clearing space away from former Washington All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman for the Patriots’ notorious short passing game.
They’re both still working to carve out established roles, albeit in two entirely different situations.
Meyers is trying to break through for a Patriots team that has won three of the last five Super Bowls and has established NFL talents in Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon and Dorsett ahead of him on the depth chart. Meanwhile, Harmon is trying to make a name for himself in a Washington team that is snake bitten by organizational dysfunction and a revolving door of quarterbacks.
Although the duo was never on the field together, Meyers got the last laugh with his Patriots taking down Washington 33-7 at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
New England Patriots receiver Jakobi Meyers fights for more yards after his catch during the team's game against the Patriots on October 6, 2019. The Patriots won the game, 33-7
