Jakobi Meyers Traded To Jaguars: Fantasy Football Fallout and More

I tend to think that most in-season NFL trades are much ado about nothing.

And given the modest trade package that the Jaguars gave up to get Jakobi Meyers, I tend to think that's the case here.

• Jags get: Jakobi Meyers
• Raiders get: Fourth- and sixth-round picks

It's not as if the Jags are getting themselves a true difference maker, and the Raiders aren't losing one.

So here's generally how I think this trade will impact the Jags, Raiders, and their players.

Fantasy Football Impact of Jakobi Meyers Trade On The Jaguars Offense

Right now, the Jags are dealing with significant injuries to their WRs.

• Brian Thomas (ankle): Questionable
• Dyami Brown (concussion): Questionable
• Travis Hunter (knee, IR): Out
• Tim Patrick (groin): Questionable

If not for the Meyers trade, the Jags legitimately could've entered their Week 10 matchup with the Texans without four of their top five WRs.

So Meyers gives the team a solid NFL WR to use immediately.

But when Thomas is healthy, I would still expect him to be the No. 1 WR ahead of Meyers.

Of course … the fact that the team traded for Meyers might indicate that they are concerned about Thomas' injury.

But I don't expect Meyers to get a significant boost in opportunities via the trade—unless Thomas misses multiple games.

But even then … he's with a new QB, and Trevor Lawrence has failed to impress in his first season with HC Liam Coen.

The trade probably stabilizes Meyers' production, because with the Raiders you never knew what you were going to get on a weekly basis, and Thomas is probably not the target hog that TE Brock Bowers is.

But I don't see this trade as something that should move Meyers into a different long-term fantasy tier.

I do, though, think that it absolutely puts the kibosh on the idea that, without Hunter, Thomas has a real shot to return to his 2024 form. The dude who balled out as a rookie last year—that guy is gone.

Raiders Fantasy Football Fallout From Jakobi Meyers Trade

Last week, with Bowers returning to action off the Week 8 bye, the Raiders relied primarily on five pass catchers and used two-TE sets heavily (per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report).

• WR Jakobi Meyers: 95% route rate
• WR Tre Tucker: 100% route rate
• TE Brock Bowers: 81% route rate
• TE Michael Mayer: 72% route rate
• WR Tyler Lockett: 28% route rate

Now with Meyers gone, the team could lean all the more into its two-TE set, and it could also give more opportunities to Lockett (who joined the team last week) or rookie WRs Dont'e Thornton and Jack Bech, both of whom were benched in Week 9.

But, really, I think this trade makes clear that the passing game belongs solely to Bowers—and also that the team might shift away from the aerial attack when possible in order to feature all the more rookie first-round RB Ashton Jeanty.

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