Browns may have officially won the Travis Hunter trade

Browns may have officially won the Travis Hunter trade originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Before the entire 2025 NFL Draft turned into a referendum on Shedeur Sanders, the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars had already made major headlines.

The Browns were slated to pick No. 2 overall, the presumed spot for Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and his two-way abilities. But the Jags traded up into that spot and chose Hunter for themselves.

At the time, it felt at least a little bit like Cleveland was leaving a generational talent on the table.

But one year later, that return the Browns got for Hunter is looking better and better -- especially in lieu of the fact that reports are indicating Hunter will be a full-time cornerback in 2026 with wide receiver only sprinkled in. If Hunter isn't the two-in-one masterpiece that it seemed he could be, then he may not have even been worth the second pick.

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In return, the Browns got the fifth pick, the 36th pick and the Jags' 2026 first-rounder, which turns out to be No. 24 later this month.

They chose Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham with the No. 5 pick, and he showed as a rookie that he'll be a solid contributor on the defensive interior for years to come.

At No. 36, the Browns chose Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins, who will be the surefire starter in Cleveland through at least the rest of his rookie contract.

And they've still got one more selection to go to tack on to the return for Hunter with another first-round talent.

The hope of the Browns when they made the deal may have been that the Jaguars were bad enough that they'd have two top-10 selections this year. They also may have hoped for a stronger QB class so one of their two first-round picks could be used on a quarterback.

But even without it working out like that, Hunter hasn't become an improbably transcendent talent. And because of that, it's looking like the Browns are on track to win their big draft night blockbuster trade.

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