Raiders-Jaguars Trade Grades: Jacksonville Adds Another Weapon for Trevor Lawrence

Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers finally got his wish of leaving the Raiders after failing to get a pay raise from the franchise.

Meyers will now get the opportunity to showcase himself with the Jaguars after the Raiders moved him a few hours before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET NFL trade deadline. In return, Las Vegas received 2026 fourth- and sixth-round picks.

The Raiders were obvious sellers after starting the season 2–6. They now have extra picks to possibly get a real rebuild going after several failed attempts in the past 20 years.

As for the Jaguars (5–3), they get some much-needed help for Trevor Lawrence, who will be without two-way playmaker Travis Hunter for an extended period after the rookie injured his knee last week.

Jaguars

Not only are the Jaguars getting a reliable playmaker in Meyers, they’re also getting a willing blocker to help out the run game.

Meyers, 28, might not have been the best pure wide receiver on the trading block. However, his versatility provides a ton of value for a Jaguars offense that’s still searching for an identity during coach Liam Coen’s first year in Jacksonville.

Surprisingly, Coen has been unable to get more contributions from receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who’s in the midst of a second-year slump after a stellar rookie year. Now, Lawrence doesn’t have to force-feed Thomas, and has options to spread the ball around to Meyers, Dyami Brown and Parker Washington. As for another positive, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Meyers is a more polished playmaker than Hunter, who was having more success as a cornerback than as a receiver to start his career.

Jacksonville is now short on draft picks after trading up to No. 2 to take Hunter in April’s draft and Tuesday’s deal for Meyers. But they’re right in the middle of the playoff race and currently have the final wild-card spot in the AFC. Meyers, a seven-year veteran, had 33 catches for 352 yards and no touchdowns in seven games with the Raiders this season.

Grade: B+

Raiders

The Raiders received a nice haul for a player that they had no intentions of keeping after this season.

Meyers was right to ask for a pay raise because Las Vegas expected him to take on the No. 1 wide receiver role and had some leverage because of his contributions in the running game. But the Raiders didn’t bite because star tight end Brock Bowers is by far the team’s best pass catcher.

With Bowers now healthy—he had a monster three-touchdown performance against Jacksonville last week—Las Vegas saw an opportunity to build for the future by trading Meyers despite the lack of depth at wide receiver. Geno Smith will have to play the rest of the season with a receiving corps of Tre Tucker, Tyler Lockett and rookies Dont’e Thornton Jr. and Jack Bech.

There’s also the possibility that Meyers’s departure could hurt rookie running back Ashton Jeanty and the rest of the Raiders’ ground game. But Las Vegas needed to prioritize the future and go all-in on landing a high draft pick for 20206. They took steps forward toward that when the Raiders came up short on their two-point conversion and lost to the Jaguars. They took an even bigger step after trading Meyers.