The Cleveland Browns took part in a blockbuster trade to open up the 2025 NFL draft when they traded the second overall pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a haul, including a future first round pick. The Jaguars then selected the Colorado two-way star and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.
The Browns then moved down to the fifth overall pick and landed Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham. The move left many Browns fans feeling rug-pulled by the decision not to select the fan-favorite Hunter, regardless of the massive haul the team received. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was asked about the trade to move off the No. 2 overall pick, and here is what he had to say:
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“Those are hard decisions. Listen, Travis Hunter is a special football player, and I do think he can play both ways and I think he’ll do well. He’s also a great kid. Not a good, but a great kid. So, we were locked in on that. And then the opportunity came up and you go back three places, and we thought there were really good players, and we think we got a good one, really good one in Mason (Graham). And then to add, really, almost a first-round pick with a 36th pick and to have a number one next year, we just thought was too good to pass up. Time will tell whether we did the right thing or not.”
This all but confirms the Browns would have taken Hunter with that second overall pick had he been on the board, and that the team viewed him as a two-way player at the NFL level. It’s all hindsight now as Hunter is a Jaguar and Graham is a Brown.
But this will continue to be something history will look back on, just as we do the Julio Jones trade of 2011.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns were locked in on Travis Hunter before draft day trade