Two days after facing off against one another, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders engineered a swap ahead of the NFL trade deadline.
The Raiders agreed to send wide receiver Jakobi Meyers to the Jaguars in exchange for fourth- and sixth-round draft picks, according to multiple reports.
For the Raiders, the deal represented a long-awaited split with the team’s leading wideout, who sought to be moved before the season. The Jaguars, on the hand, added a reliable pass catcher for Trevor Lawrence at a time when his leading targets are injured.
But who won out in the deal? Here’s how we graded each team:
Jaguars trade grade: B
James Gladstone is at it gain.
The Jaguars’ hyperaggressive general manager took another page from the Los Angeles Rams’ playbook and pursued a veteran at a key spot at the trade deadline. The splash factor doesn’t measure up to what Les Snead has delivered in previous years, but it still aids Jacksonville’s surprise resurgence in the AFC South.
For all of the progress the Jaguars have made in Liam Coen’s inaugural season at the helm, the passing attack still hasn’t clicked. Jacksonville ranks just 25th in expected points added per pass play at -0.11, according to Next Gen Stats. That’s primarily a Lawrence problem, but it’s also clear he hasn’t gotten the support everyone expected from Brian Thomas Jr. in the receiver’s wildly disappointing second pro season. Meanwhile, Travis Hunter has yet to fully take off on either side of the ball and is now on injured reserve.
Meyers has been toiling in a Raiders offense that hasn’t afforded him a game with more than 40 receiving yards since Week 3, but he still has a good amount to offer. He can reliably beat man coverage and create easy windows for Lawrence, allowing the offense to keep things moving.
The package to obtain him might seem a little rich, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the receiver-needy Pittsburgh Steelers were also interested in Meyers, so the price might have been bumped up given the thin market at the position. And with 11 picks still remaining in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Jaguars still have a good amount of ammo to reload with young players.
Raiders trade grade: B+
When the Raiders refused to grant Meyers his preseason trade request, it served as the franchise’s latest commitment to competing in the near term. That plan has obviously gone awry in a 2-6 campaign in which Las Vegas remains a distant fourth in the AFC West. Now, however, the Silver and Black confront a harsh reality: This season is beyond saving.
Getting a fourth- and sixth-rounder for Meyers, who didn’t figure to be back in 2026, is a nice return for a team with abundant needs. With a massive war chest of cap space for 2026 – currently projected to be more than $100 million, per Over The Cap – the Raiders also couldn’t expect to capitalize off Meyers’ likely departure in free agency with a compensatory pick.
For the short term, this remains the Brock Bowers show, with the All-Pro tight end sure to vacuum up plenty of targets from Geno Smith. There’s a chance for Las Vegas to bring along Dont’e Thornton Jr. and Jack Bech, but both rookies are off to slow starts and could face competition from veteran Tyler Lockett, who signed with the team last week.
