The Jacksonville Jaguars may have surprised many at the NFL trade deadline, as a team that very few expected would give up assets for a wide receiver parted ways with a fourth-round pick and sixth-round pick in order to secure Jakobi Meyers from the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Jaguars are going for it in a year where a 5-3 start has them perfectly positioned to make a run at a wild card spot. In order to do that, they need to surround Trevor Lawrence with as much talent as possible in the wake of the Travis Hunter injury.
The biggest problem the Jaguars have faced on offense this year has been a disappointing wide receiver room with a bad case of the drops, which is taking some of the sting out of the passing attack. Adding Meyers is exactly the type of move that will help play a big role in changing that narrative.
Meyers has the third-lowest drop rate in the NFL since the start of the 2024 season, which should come in handy for a Jaguars team that has an 11.3% drop rate. Essentially, the Jags are dropping one out of every nine passes Lawrence throws. That won't happen with Meyers.
Jakobi Meyers could help Jaguars fix WR drop issues
Meyers will serve as a like-for-like replacement for Hunter while he works his way back to full health. With Brian Thomas Jr. showing signs of life in recent weeks and Parker Washington putting together the finest season of his career, the wide receiver talent runs deep in Jacksonville.
When Hunter returns, Meyers will likely slide into a WR3 role alongside the No. 2 overall pick and someone who should be much better than he is in Thomas. Even with the drop issues, there are few receiver rooms in the league with that level of depth and quality.
While Meyers is an impending free agent who may not come back to Jacksonville, there is a scenario wherein he meshes well with Lawrence, proves to be an upgrade over Washington, and impresses the front office enough to where he links up with Liam Coen for the foreseeable future.
Even if Meyers isn't the best singular talent in the world, his ability to hold onto Lawrence's throws in a way that Thomas and the rest of the receiver room have been unable to might make him an immediate fan favorite in Jacksonville.