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The world is still shaking from the seismic trade the Jacksonville Jaguars completed with the Cleveland Browns last night during the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The trade ultimately resulted in the Jaguars selecting Colorado wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter with the second overall pick of the night.
The final terms of the trade show that the Jaguars received the second overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, the 104th overall pick of the 2025 draft, and the event's 200th overall pick. On the other side of the table, the Browns got the fifth overall pick, the 36th overall pick, the 126th overall pick, and Jacksonville's first-round pick in 2026.
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ first-round pick, Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver and defensive back Travis Hunter, left, answers questions as General Manager James Gladstone, right, sits next to him.Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union
I don't care what you say - the price to get Travis Hunter was just too rich.
The Jaguars aren't one wide receiver away, and the defense isn't one corner away from greatness either.
This is a top-down job that Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone was given, and last night's trade was a move that a team that's at least at the doorstep of a conference championship game would make. The Jaguars are nowhere close to that, and the root causes of that reality still remain.
During a First Take segment posted to YouTube on April 25th, 2025, ESPN's Dan Orlovsky and Marcus Spears took both sides of the overall argument surrounding Travis Hunter.
Orlovsky said that Travis Hunter will be a gamebreaker from the first snap and make the Jaguars must-see TV for the national audience. Just like Hunter, his quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and his Head Coach Deion Sanders did for Colorado, Orlovsky believes the WR/DB dual threat will make Jacksonville a prime destination for those who want to see one of the best young players in football.
Spears countered this by saying Travis Hunter's performance as an individual will always be overshadowed by Trevor Lawrence if the latter cannot prove that he's a franchise quarterback after all. This is the root of my point in this column, as the acquisition of Travis Hunter does nothing to fix the problems that keep Trevor Lawrence from excelling in the National Football League.
Instead of searching for top-end talent on the offensive line, James Gladstone decided to "elevate the floor" and get prospects who are versatile and play multiple positions. He also gave a multi-year deal to a center, Liam Coen benched last year for a rookie. If you can tell me how this begets confidence in the unit asked to protect a QB who suffered major injuries each of the past two seasons, I'd love to hear it.
Also, Tank Bigsby is a Trent Baalke long game project that showed flashes of being a dynamic running back in 2024. Unfortunately, the young player is still too inconsistent to dedicate an entire ground game to. Speaking of which, how many coaches and chances will Travis Etienne get before the Jaguars realize that he may be a part of the offense's long-standing problems as well?
Maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe you can only make so many transactions on the offensive side of the ball. That's fine, you get that point.
Why did you trade up to draft a CB with the second overall pick when you just gave a nickelback a $10M per year contract? Didn't Jarrion Jones say he'll finally get to play on the outside this year? Is there seriously a chance that the 76.5 Million Dollar Man, Tyson Campbell, rides the pine when Travis Hunter shows out in training camp?
What about the off-ball linebacking corps? Unless the Jaguars trade back into the second round tonight, they'll be taking one of the premier rounds to find a new starter off.
Does this mean LB Devin Lloyd isn't in a prove-it year himself? What about Foye Oluokun? Who's playing the SAM position in Anthony Campanile's new scheme? Are they fine with the current safety situation?
One way to help Trevor Lawrence be great is ensuring that he doesn't have to face three-score deficits by the end of the second quarter (that's not an exaggeration, you've seen it happen before, people). Jacksonville had the worst defense in the NFL last year and only made one significant change to it.
However, I'm trying to figure out who gets bumped out of the way for that significant change to see playing time if he's a better CB than WR during his first year of development.
If you haven't figured it out yet, here's the TLDR:
Travis Hunter = GREAT!
Price = Immensely high.
Roster Fit = WR2 at second overall???
Impact on Trevor Lawrence proving he's a franchise QB in 2025? = little-to-nil since Hunter can't block (but at least he can play defense!).
Continue reading...
The final terms of the trade show that the Jaguars received the second overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, the 104th overall pick of the 2025 draft, and the event's 200th overall pick. On the other side of the table, the Browns got the fifth overall pick, the 36th overall pick, the 126th overall pick, and Jacksonville's first-round pick in 2026.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars’ first-round pick, Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver and defensive back Travis Hunter, left, answers questions as General Manager James Gladstone, right, sits next to him.Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union
I don't care what you say - the price to get Travis Hunter was just too rich.
The Jaguars aren't one wide receiver away, and the defense isn't one corner away from greatness either.
This is a top-down job that Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone was given, and last night's trade was a move that a team that's at least at the doorstep of a conference championship game would make. The Jaguars are nowhere close to that, and the root causes of that reality still remain.
During a First Take segment posted to YouTube on April 25th, 2025, ESPN's Dan Orlovsky and Marcus Spears took both sides of the overall argument surrounding Travis Hunter.
Orlovsky said that Travis Hunter will be a gamebreaker from the first snap and make the Jaguars must-see TV for the national audience. Just like Hunter, his quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and his Head Coach Deion Sanders did for Colorado, Orlovsky believes the WR/DB dual threat will make Jacksonville a prime destination for those who want to see one of the best young players in football.
Spears countered this by saying Travis Hunter's performance as an individual will always be overshadowed by Trevor Lawrence if the latter cannot prove that he's a franchise quarterback after all. This is the root of my point in this column, as the acquisition of Travis Hunter does nothing to fix the problems that keep Trevor Lawrence from excelling in the National Football League.
Instead of searching for top-end talent on the offensive line, James Gladstone decided to "elevate the floor" and get prospects who are versatile and play multiple positions. He also gave a multi-year deal to a center, Liam Coen benched last year for a rookie. If you can tell me how this begets confidence in the unit asked to protect a QB who suffered major injuries each of the past two seasons, I'd love to hear it.
Also, Tank Bigsby is a Trent Baalke long game project that showed flashes of being a dynamic running back in 2024. Unfortunately, the young player is still too inconsistent to dedicate an entire ground game to. Speaking of which, how many coaches and chances will Travis Etienne get before the Jaguars realize that he may be a part of the offense's long-standing problems as well?
Maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe you can only make so many transactions on the offensive side of the ball. That's fine, you get that point.
Why did you trade up to draft a CB with the second overall pick when you just gave a nickelback a $10M per year contract? Didn't Jarrion Jones say he'll finally get to play on the outside this year? Is there seriously a chance that the 76.5 Million Dollar Man, Tyson Campbell, rides the pine when Travis Hunter shows out in training camp?
What about the off-ball linebacking corps? Unless the Jaguars trade back into the second round tonight, they'll be taking one of the premier rounds to find a new starter off.
Does this mean LB Devin Lloyd isn't in a prove-it year himself? What about Foye Oluokun? Who's playing the SAM position in Anthony Campanile's new scheme? Are they fine with the current safety situation?
One way to help Trevor Lawrence be great is ensuring that he doesn't have to face three-score deficits by the end of the second quarter (that's not an exaggeration, you've seen it happen before, people). Jacksonville had the worst defense in the NFL last year and only made one significant change to it.
However, I'm trying to figure out who gets bumped out of the way for that significant change to see playing time if he's a better CB than WR during his first year of development.
If you haven't figured it out yet, here's the TLDR:
Travis Hunter = GREAT!
Price = Immensely high.
Roster Fit = WR2 at second overall???
Impact on Trevor Lawrence proving he's a franchise QB in 2025? = little-to-nil since Hunter can't block (but at least he can play defense!).
Continue reading...
