The 2025 NFL Draft started how nearly everyone expected, with quarterback Cam Ward getting selected by the Tennessee Titans. However, what happened next shook up everyone’s draft boards when the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cleveland Browns made an unexpected trade.
The Jaguars gave Cleveland the No. 5 pick, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2026 first-round pick to move up to the Browns’ spot at No. 2. All of this was to land a unicorn of a player, Travis Hunter. Now, Jaguars owner Shad Khan is telling the true story of why they decided to make this kind of huge move.
Jaguars’ Shad Khan Spills the Tea on How He Decided To Go Snag Travis Hunter
In an article by Michael Silver, published in The Athletic, the reporter described his conversation with Khan immediately after the trade.
Silver pointed out that the Jaguars have only made the postseason twice since he bought the team in 2011, and he is looking to change the team’s trajectory.
“One thing the Jaguars have always done well is building draft capital. We’ve been great at stockpiling picks. And when it gets right down to it, what do you have to show for it?”
“We need difference makers,” Khan said. “That’s what we got.”
During his time with the team, Khan has looked to shake things up by hiring primarily new front office staff, including general manager James Gladstone, executive vice president Tony Boselli, and head coach Liam Coen. Silver said that Khan is thrilled with how aggressive they have been, and this trade is a symptom of that.
“If there’s an opportunity to be bold,” Gladstone always says, “we won’t flinch.”
After the trade was made, the news broke that Gladstone and Browns general manager, Andrew Berry, had been discussing this possible trade for weeks, managing to keep it out of the media until right before the draft.
Two-Way Terror: Hunter Becomes First-Ever Draft Pick at WR and CB
Hunter made headlines by playing both sides of the ball with the Colorado Buffaloes. He didn’t just play a few plays; he was in for nearly the whole game. That made him the first player in NFL Draft history to hear his name called at two positions: wide receiver and defensive back.
According to PFSN’s Scouting Report, Hunter is one of the top prospects in 2025. They note that he legitimately qualifies as a top-five pick at both positions, and the only thing uncertain is how a team will decide to use him.
He is smaller than average for both positions, but makes up for it with his exceptional athleticism.
“As a wide receiver, Hunter can use his elite burst, bend and speed ot carve up coverage defenders and offer RAC dynamism, and as a cornerback, he can match, transition, blanket WRs in trail, read routes, and hawk in front of passes,” PFSN NFL Draft Analyst Ian Cummings wrote. “His mobility profile is generational, as are his ball skills, and that combination is lethal on either side of the ball.”
Jacksonville is thrilled that they were able to grab a player who is a true difference maker, and the rest of the NFL will be jealously watching to see how they decide to primarily implement him.