The 2025 NFL draft was only minutes old when one of the league’s newest general managers shook up the night with a blockbuster trade.
The Jacksonville Jaguars moved up from No. 5 to select Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter with the second pick.
Hunter is perhaps the draft’s best athlete, a top recruit out of high school who developed into a star while playing both receiver and cornerback for Colorado and coach Deion Sanders.
With the fifth pick it received from Jacksonville, the Cleveland Browns took Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham.
Cleveland badly needs a quarterback, with even team owner Jimmy Haslam recently describing the Browns’ disastrous trade for Deshaun Watson as a “big swing and miss,” yet the pick of Graham and the initial trade down from No. 2 suggest the Browns were not enticed by the class of quarterbacks available.
Next year’s quarterback class could potentially include Arch Manning of Texas and Penn State’s Drew Allar.
The trade to grab Hunter brought to mind comments made by new Jaguars general manager James Gladstone at his introductory press conference months ago.
“We will prioritize people and players that are intangibly rich, and by doing so, they will elevate our ecosystem by being nothing more than themselves,” Gladstone, 34, said.
Hunter is certainly more than a typical player. Last season he caught 96 passes, including 15 touchdowns, averaging 12.9 yards per reception — the type of big-play target who could help Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars quarterback and former No. 1 overall pick.
Defensively, Hunter had 36 tackles and four interceptions with 11 passes defended.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jaguars are expected to allow Hunter to play both offense and defense in the NFL, which was his wish.
