Should Raiders have traded Jakobi Meyers to 49ers?
By Austin Boyd
The Las Vegas Raiders may have a few assets that are valuable around the NFL. Much of the trade rumors surrounding the franchise have involved Davante Adams but there's another wide receiver on the roster that teams want.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mike Silver, the San Francisco 49ers attempted to trade for Jakobi Meyers but were shot down.
“I’ve since learned from sources inside and outside the building that the 49ers contacted numerous other teams in attempts to land a replacement for Aiyuk, sometimes exploring transactions with far lower marquee value,” Silver wrote.
“For example, the Raiders, who are believed to be receptive to stockpiling picks in anticipation of positioning themselves to draft a quarterback next spring, were approached about dealing starting receiver Jakobi Meyers. The Raiders rebuffed San Francisco’s overtures for the sixth-year veteran, who caught 71 passes for 807 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023.”
Now, this was before Brandon Aiyuk got extended so it's possible that he may have been part of a potential trade package to the Raiders involving Meyers. Regardless, that deal never happened and it's easy to understand why.
Meyers has been very productive for the Raiders and is on a reasonable contract for this season and next. If Adams gets traded this season, Meyers becomes the team's No. 1 wide receiver and he may be next year, as well.
Considering he's still young (27), there's no reason for the Raiders to trade him now. If the plan is to trade up for a quarterback in next year's draft, that quarterback is going to need somebody to throw to. Adams is a much more logical player to trade away considering he's turning 32 this season.
At the same time, if the season goes awry for the Raiders, they may just want to stock up on as many assets as possible. There's a lot of good wide receiver talent coming into the NFL every year so it's not impossible to replace Adams and Meyers in the draft, especially if next year is going to be a rebuilding year.