CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns’ decision to trade down from the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft could be debated “for years and years,” according to Browns reporter Dan Labbe. With that pick, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Colorado’s Travis Hunter, a two-way player with the potential to make Pro Bowls at both wide receiver and cornerback — a truly unprecedented talent.
While some fans questioned moving away from such a potentially generational player, Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot couldn’t contain her enthusiasm for the trade.
“Love it. I absolutely love it. Love it, love it, love it,” Cabot declared on the Orange and Brown Talk podcast. “If they had gone down to 18 or 17 or 21 or something like that, then I probably wouldn’t like it. But all they did was move back three spaces to pick up an extra second round pick which is where they called the sweet spot of this draft with the best players in it in that area.”
The haul Cleveland received included the fifth overall pick (used on Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham), the 36th pick, the 126th pick, and a 2026 first-round selection from Jacksonville. That future first-rounder could prove especially valuable if the Browns need quarterback help next season.
What makes this trade different from past Browns draft disappointments, particularly the infamous 2016 trade down from the second overall pick (Carson Wentz), is that Cleveland only moved back three spots. In 2016, they initially moved from second to eighth, missing out on players like Joey Bosa, Jalen Ramsey, and Ezekiel Elliott, then traded down again before ultimately selecting Corey Coleman.
“I think if nothing else, as you know, if you’re anti-trade down, that’s fine. But I think the thing that they avoided was trading down too far,” Labbe explained. “And Andrew Berry told us on Thursday night they weren’t going to trade out of five. That was where they were going to stay.”
Browns beat reporter Ashley Bastock offered a more measured take: “It is still in some capacity, always a gamble when you are trading away from a tangible sure thing, a player, you traded away from Travis Hunter for more picks.”
The decision allowed Cleveland to significantly revamp their running game, selecting Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson with picks acquired in the trade. Those selections could signal a changing of the guard in the Browns’ backfield.
The ultimate verdict on this trade might not be known for years. If Travis Hunter becomes the two-way star many project, Jacksonville will likely feel confident in their decision regardless of the draft capital surrendered. For Cleveland, the success of this trade could hinge on whether that 2026 first-round pick becomes the foundation for their quarterback of the future.
Mary Kay Cabot predicts a clear winner: “I will be very surprised if the Browns don’t win this hands down.”
But as the old football saying goes: draft day winners aren’t always determined on draft day. The Browns’ front office is betting that quality players at multiple positions will outweigh the potential of one extraordinary talent — a debate that will likely rage among fans until the results play out on the field.
Here’s the podcast for this week:
If the player above doesn’t work, you can listen to this week’s podcast here.
Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com’s Browns reporters.
Note: Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story from the Cleveland Orange and Brown Talk Podcast by cleveland.com. Visitors to cleveland.com have asked for more text stories based on website podcast discussions.
