With the 2026 NFL trade deadline approaching, it seems fitting to rehash the biggest move that the Las Vegas Raiders made at this time last year: sending stud wide receiver Jakobi Meyers to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a pair of draft picks.
Meyers had not yet signed a long-term deal with the new regime in Las Vegas, and he made it clear before the season that he wanted the Raiders to trade him. After a 2-6 start to the campaign, John Spytek finally obliged and sent Meyers to the Jaguars for a 4th- and 6th-round pick in April's draft.
And while this was a significant move at the time, it hasn't really been rehashed all that much. It was an amicable, mutual breakup. But it is natural to look back at the decision and evaluate who is better off, especially with Tuesday marking the one-year anniversary of the trade.
So, let's go through what has happened for both teams since this time last year, and what the Raiders did with those draft picks.
Looking back at Raiders-Jaguars Jakobi Meyers trade after one year
Things were already bad for the Silver and Black when Meyers was in town, but they got unspeakably worse after he left. Las Vegas dropped eight straight games after Meyers was traded and only scored over 17 points a single time for the remainder of the season. It went from ugly to hideous.
For Jacksonville, it was the opposite. They lost their first game with Meyers to the Houston Texans, but then they ripped off eight straight wins to finish the regular season before falling to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round. Meyers was a huge factor in the Jaguars' big playoff push.
They rewarded him for his contributions, too, as Jacksonville signed Meyers to a three-year, $60 million deal. The Raiders were never going to give him that big an extension, and Meyers got to play for a contender, so the veteran wideout came out of this trade as a huge winner.
He is still a key piece of their offense this season, and the Jaguars look like contenders once again.
As for the Raiders, they completely bottomed out. Las Vegas earned the No. 1 pick and cleaned house on the coaching staff, which has paved the way for this exciting time to be a fan of the Silver and Black. Selling at the deadline and admitting defeat on a lost season can have their perks.
With an extra fourth- and sixth-rounder in hand, though, Spytek got busy during the offseason and in the draft.
That fourth-round pick, which became No. 117 overall, was packaged with the No. 36 pick in a draft-day trade, as Las Vegas sent those selections to the Houston Texans for No. 38 and No. 91 overall. While the Texans nabbed Kayden McDonald, the Raiders got Treydan Stukes and Trey Zuhn III.
Stukes has been a starter all year for Rob Leonard's defense and has the makings of a future star in the secondary, and Zuhn III has earned a starting role after weeks of being the jumbo-set offensive lineman. If Zuhn III also emerges as a starter, this will look like quite the heist.
And that is just what Spytek did with the first of two picks that Jacksonville sent him.
The Raiders traded the sixth-rounder they got from the Jaguars, No. 182 overall, to the Buffalo Bills for Taron Johnson and the No. 228 pick in the 2026 draft. Johnson has been a solid player this season and a nice veteran presence for a young secondary as well, so he has been worth the pick.
But the best part of this deal is that they took the No. 228 pick and sent it to the New York Jets along with Geno Smith for a sixth-rounder, the No. 208 pick. And Las Vegas used that selection to move up the board in Round 4 to select Mike Washington Jr., who looks like a good young NFL back.
So, in totality, the Raiders got Treydan Stukes, Trey Zuhn III, and Taron Johnson for Jakobi Meyers. But they also offloaded Geno Smith and drafted Mike Washington Jr. as a result, so Las Vegas did exceptionally well with the return that they got, even if it felt a bit underwhelming at the time.
Who won the Jakobi Meyers trade?
Ultimately, the team that has enjoyed more success is the real winner, no matter which side the trade details favor. And right now, the Jaguars are Super Bowl contenders, while the Raiders are hovering somewhere in the middle and still badly need wide receiver help.
That said, if Jacksonville falls short this year and fails to maximize its window, and Las Vegas sees Johnson continue to lead and play well while Stukes, Zuhn III and Washington Jr. all have big roles going forward, it will be hard not to acknowledge that the Raiders did the right thing trading Meyers.
Everyone wants to declare a winner and a loser, but perhaps both sides have done well and are getting closer to accomplishing what they want in the wake of the deal. And Meyers undoubtedly falls under the "Once a Raider, always a Raider" umbrella.
But after a year, it is hard to say that the Silver and Black aren't in a better spot than they were.
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