Jaguars act quickly to address a problem they didn’t expect to face just before the NFL trade deadline
Jaguars are sending multiple draft picks to the Raiders to acquire wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.
With Travis Hunter and Brian Thomas Jr., the Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t expect to have a wide receiver need during the regular season. Well, things change fast in the NFL. With Hunter suffering a knee injury, that became a necessity, though, and general manager James Gladstone acted quickly to address it.
Right before the trade deadline on Tuesday, the Jags sent fourth- and sixth-round picks to the Las Vegas Raiders to acquire Jakobi Meyers.
Contract considerations
The Jaguars should absorb $5.38 million in base salary, and Meyers is slated to become a free agent next offseason — unless the Raiders agreed to pay part of that salary to facilitate the deal, which hasn’t been reported so far.
The Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers were also interested in Meyers, affecting the final price for Jacksonville. The good news for the Jaguars, though, is that the team still has 11 draft picks in 2026.
Reliable production
Meyers became the Raiders’ top wide receiver after the team traded Davante Adams to the New York Jets last season, even though tight end Brock Bowers was still the primary target. Meyers finished last season with 1,027 receiving yards, and this year he’s had 33 catches and 352 yards.
Part of the decision, and why it can make more sense for the Jaguars, is that if Meyers leaves in free agency next year, he would count toward the compensatory pick formula — potentially generating a draft pick back to Jacksonville. But according to Mike Silver from The Athletic, an extension after the season is also on the table.
A 28-year-old wide receiver, Meyers, went undrafted in 2019 and spent the first four years of his NFL career with the New England Patriots. Back in 2023, he signed a three-year, $33 million deal with the Raiders.
What Meyers can offer
The Raiders made Meyers a true WR1 on a bad offense the last few years since Adams departed. He ended up having his first 1,000 receiving yard season and had the lowest drop rate of anyone in the league.
This year, he just hasn’t had that same type of production. It’s not on him; the offense is just very bad, and this guy named Bowers is pretty good, too. Meyers has sure hands and is one of the league’s wide receivers vs. zone coverage, meaning he is great at finding holes in the zone and sitting there.
He knows how to get open, and when it’s thrown his way, if it’s catchable, he’ll probably catch it. The Jaguars are getting the ultimate pro in Meyers, a guy who demanded a trade but never held out after not getting his contract.
He always stayed by and played for his teammates. The fan base will miss the leader that he is, but I cannot see a better fit for him than the Jaguars, given that Hunter is out.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports Jacksonville, as “Jaguars act quickly to address a problem they didn’t expect to face just days before the trade deadline.”
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