Wow! Jaguars land generational talent Travis Hunter in massive draft day trade

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars opened their new era with the biggest draft day trade in franchise history.

Instead of staying put at No. 5, Jacksonville general manager James Gladstone sent that pick to the Browns and moved up to No. 2 to draft Heisman winner and Colorado two-way standout Travis Hunter in a blockbuster deal unlike anything the Jaguars had done before.

Hunter starred at receiver (15 touchdown catches last year) and at cornerback (four interceptions) underneath a massive snap count for head coach Deion Sanders at Colorado. There has seldom been a player like Hunter in college football where they’ve shined on both sides of the ball like he did last season. Charles Woodson at Michigan in 1997 had a spectacular junior year, picking off nine passes and adding a couple touchdown catches en route to the Heisman. Woodson eventually became a Pro Football Hall of Famer.

“Just whatever the coaches in the organization, in the club, think about me,” Hunter said. “It’s up to them at this point, but I’m going to go out there and show them all I can do both.”

Watch the post-draft conference below.

Woodson is the most logical comp to Hunter.

Gladstone said the chance to draft Hunter was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, saying that the two-way star is a player who has the potential to change the trajectory of the NFL.

“There are players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of a team. There are very few players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of the sport itself,” Gladstone said. “Travis, while he has a lot to still earn, in our eyes, has the potential to do just that. It’s an exciting step for us to take, and obviously a lot of work to be done because while Travis’ dream is now reality, he is still dreaming in a different way than most do. He prepares in a different way than most do, but now it’s time to bring it to life.”

It came at a massive cost, but one Gladstone said was worth it because Hunter is considered a first-round pick at receiver and a first-round pick at cornerback.

Jacksonville received the No. 2 pick, a fourth-round pick and a sixth-round pick.

Jacksonville gave up a massive haul to the Browns, including the No. 5 pick, No. 36, a fourth-round pick, and their 2026 first-round pick.

The high cost means that the Jaguars have nine picks left in the draft — Nos. 70 and 88 in the third round, Nos. 104 and 126 in the fourth, No. 142 in the fifth, Nos. 182, 194 and 200 in the sixth and No. 221 in the seventh.

There were pre-draft rumblings that the Jaguars wanted to try and move up as high as No. 2 to get Hunter. That picked up substantially throughout Thursday. They sent out a boatload of draft capital, including next year’s first rounder, but head coach Liam Coen and Gladstone saw Hunter as a generational prospect and swung for the fences.

“We’ll have a plan right now of primarily on offense with learning the defensive system and practicing on the defensive side of the ball as well throughout this offseason program,” Coen said. “As we continue to grow, we have to be fluid throughout this whole process. We’ve had multiple conversations at length with athletic training, equipment, sports science, coaching, everybody involved about this process and what it’s going to look like moving forward. We have a plan in place, and that’s really where we’ll start.”

Trading a second-round pick this year hurts in terms of adding a quality body early on Friday. Jacksonville has a league low 59 players currently on the roster, and it needs to add 31 before training camp starts in July to get to the 90-player limit.

A move like this is something that hasn’t happened in the franchise’s previous 30 drafts. Jacksonville has never not made a first-round pick in a draft, so it would need to pull a deal next year to keep that streak going.

Trading up was unusual for the Jaguars.

Jacksonville traded down from No. 17 last year in the first round and landed receiver Brian Thomas Jr. at No. 23. Not only did the Jaguars get Thomas, they also added three additional picks, including third- and fourth-round selections this year.

Thomas set every franchise receiving record for a rookie and looks like a superstar. Now, he could have a pair of new running mates at receiver. Jacksonville is expecting big things from free agent signee Dyami Brown, and will certainly add the dynamic Hunter to the mix.

“It’s going to be fun to play with those guys. It’s going to be exciting to watch us play,” Hunter said.

Watch the News4JAX sports team break down the trade during the News4JAGs ’25 Draft special below.