The NFL trade deadline is mere weeks away, and rumors are already swirling about which players could potentially be on the move.
One of those players is Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. Meyers requested a trade this past offseason, but did not have that request heeded and has instead been toiling on what looks like a very bad Raiders team. With Meyers in the final season of the three-year, $33 million contract he signed back in 2023, it might make some sense for the Raiders to look for a taker before the deadline.
With that in mind, we wanted to take a look at some potential landing spots for Meyers, who has been extremely productive over the last five years and could definitely be of help to receiver-needy teams. He may not be the hottest name on the market, but he’s likely to be one of the more affordable, and possibly one of the most likely to be dealt given the reality of his team and contract situations.
We know the Patriots are familiar with Meyers. He spent his first four NFL seasons with New England, eventually emerging as the team’s No. 1 wideout. He caught 235 passes for 2.758 yards and eight scores during his time with the Patriots, and has continued to be successful during his run with the Raiders.
The Pats’ passing offense has taken off this year with Drake Maye emerging as a star, but their current wide receivers are Stefon Diggs, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, Demario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III. Diggs is still not playing a full complement of snaps. Boutte has popped up here and there for big games and seems to be a Maye favorite. Hollins is mostly used as a blocker and occasional deep threat. Douglas is a slot guy like Meyers, but his snaps haven’t been consistent. Williams is a third-round pick and is still coming along but hasn’t yet taken on a significant role. And Chism has played just two offensive snaps.
So there’s room here for someone like Meyers to step in take the passing game to a new level as a complementary threat.
The Giants do not have much at receiver at the moment. With Malik Nabers out for the year with a torn ACL, it’s Wan’Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Jalin Hyatt, Gunner Olszewski and Beaux Collins.
Jaxson Dart has flashed talent during his first three starts, but before this past game against the Eagles, those flashes came mostly as a runner. You need to give him some better weapons for the passing game to become a more consistent threat. Given that the design of the Giants offense with Dart under center has emphasized quick, underneath throws to the middle of the field, Meyers would make for an excellent fit.
He’d probably less costly than some of the other options out there, too. And given that the Giants are still more likely to pick higher in the draft than lower, giving up less draft capital is preferable to giving up more unless you’re finding a long-term star partner for Nabers on the perimeter.
The Bills feel like they are right now a year behind the cycle that the Kansas City Chiefs went through with their wide receivers. For the first couple of years after Tyreek Hill left, the Chiefs felt like they were fine cobbling things together. But then last year, they felt like they had to make a trade for DeAndre Hopkins when things weren’t going all that well.
The Bills without Diggs were just fine last year. And really, they have been mostly fine this year. But you can always get more dangerous. And Meyers would certainly add some juice to a wide receiver corps that currently consists of Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Josh Palmer, Elijah Moore, Curtis Samuel and Tyrell Shavers.
Meyers has been known as a slot guy for much of his career, but these last two years he’s actually spent some more time playing on the perimeter. He and Shakir would be able to coexist in the offense, complementing each other’s skill sets.
Pittsburgh is as much in need of receiver help as any team in the NFL. After trading George Pickens to the Cowboys this offseason, the Steelers’ wide receivers are DK Metcalf, Roman Wilson, Calvin Austin III, Scott Miller, Ben Skowronek and Ke’Shawn Williams.
Aaron Rodgers has been able to make do in games against certain opponents, but the Steelers have also had a fairly soft schedule to date. As things get more difficult over the second half of the year, and if their defense continues to allow opponents to move the ball with more consistency than it has over the last several seasons, the Steelers are going to need more juice offensively in order to continue winning games.
After their loss to the Bengals on Thursday night, their division lead doesn’t necessarily look quite as insurmountable as it did coming into the game, and so they could use some fortification in what is currently one of the weakest areas of the team.
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