Revisiting the Jakobi Meyers trade: How Jacksonville's low-cost gem boosted Trevor Lawrence

Meyers has been the perfect piece to make Liam Coen's passing attack come to life

Oct 16, 2026 at 7:33 am ET • 4 min read

Most deals near the NFL trade deadline are ones made on the fringes of the roster. An update for a contender here, a shedding of a veteran for a rebuilding/retooling team there, and viola, the trade deadline has passed. Last year was an exception, with the Jets' fire sale of Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams representing two of the biggest midseason trades ever.

On the other hand, Jakobi Meyers being traded from the Raiders to the Jaguars looked very much like a run-of-the-mill trade deadline swap. Meyers was expected to add reliability to a thin receiver room dealing with injuries, and the 2-6 Raiders had no reason to keep a disgruntled vet. Nothing too earth-shattering one way or another. In fact, in our trade grades, we gave Las Vegas the higher mark.

Now, though, it's clear this wasn't just a sensible add for Jacksonville, but a crucial one. Who knew a solid-but-unspectacular wide receiver — Meyers has never been a Pro Bowler and has one 1,000-yard season — could completely change an offense?

Apparently, Jacksonville did.

The trade

• Jaguars receive: WR Jakobi Meyers
• Raiders receive: 2026 fourth- and sixth-round picks

Meyers set career highs with 87 receptions and 1,027 yards in 2024, but absent a contract extension, he requested a trade right before the 2025 season. He doubled down on that request in late October, shortly before the deadline, and the Jaguars made his wish for a new home come true two weeks later. (They'd extend him shortly thereafter, taking care of that wish, too.)

For the Jaguars, adding Meyers was a way to boost Lawrence's surroundings. At the time, Brian Thomas Jr. was in the midst of a tough 2025 season after a terrific 2024 rookie campaign. Travis Hunter was hurt. Parker Washington was showing encouraging signs, but his breakout was still weeks away. 

On the day of the Meyers trade, Thomas led the Jaguars with 30 catches. That number ranked tied for 55th in the league. Liam Coen clearly needed another player —one who was reliable and had, as Liam Neeson says in "Taken," a very particular set of skills.

Jakobi Meyers' impact

Meyers is a very well-rounded player — not necessarily elite at one specific skill, but good to very good at a lot of them. When the team acquired Meyers, GM James Gladstone said Meyers' "superpower" was not dropping the football. That may sound silly, but at the time of the trade, the Jaguars had 30 drops, tied for the most by any team through eight games since 2000. Meyers has one drop (none this year) since joining Jacksonville.

Meyers' other superpower is winning over the middle of the field, the area where Lawrence has become arguably the best passer in the NFL.

Lawrence to Meyers, between numbers, 10+ yards downfield		Most on team since Meyers arrived?
Rec	18	Yes
Pass yds	326	Yes
TD-Int	2-0	Yes (tied)
Yds per comp	18.1	No (but still good!)

As I wrote in my breakdown of Lawrence's rise late last year, Meyers is really good in the areas of the field where Lawrence is really good. That's a really good combo.

Meyers' numbers aren't anything special this year (15 catches, 202 yards, two touchdowns across five games), but he's still excelling in that over-the-middle area.

Much of Meyers' importance this season isn't seen in the numbers, though. He really helps all the other wide receivers fit into place. Washington, for example, has run nearly half of his routes from the slot since Meyers' arrival; that number was under 35% in 2025 before Meyers arrived. Tight end Brenton Strange has also taken a huge leap. Thomas Jr. is now more of a vertical piece.

Meyers is also an excellent, willing blocker. He is 12th in PFF's wide receiver run-blocking grades, and watch him usher Tariq Woolen out of the way on Washington's first touchdown of Week 5.

But really, it all comes back to Lawrence. By any measure, he has played like a top-10 quarterback with Meyers on the field, and in many stats, he's been in the top five. The Jaguars were looking for a guy who wouldn't let Lawrence down. Instead, they found a guy who lifted him up.

What happened to the picks the Raiders acquired?

Thanks to Spotrac, we can track both picks the Raiders got in the Meyers deal. The fourth-round pick (No. 117) was packaged with a second-round pick and sent to the Texans for a later second-round pick and a third-round pick. The Raiders added safety Treydan Stukes and offensive lineman Trey Zuhn III, respectively, with those picks.

The sixth-round pick got sent to Buffalo for Taron Johnson and a seventh-round pick, the latter of which was sent to the Jets alongside Geno Smith for a sixth-rounder. The Raiders then used that sixth-rounder and a fourth-rounder to trade up for running back Mike Washington Jr.

Even with all the good that Meyers has done in Jacksonville, Las Vegas made the right choice. The team was a mess last year, and it wasn't going to extend Meyers. It also shows how valuable getting multiple picks can be. The Raiders have been able to infuse their roster with intriguing young talent, an ability enhanced in part by this deal. Teams wheel and deal constantly during the NFL Draft. The ability to do so with extra picks under their control is a major advantage.