The Jaguars delivered the surprise of the draft early on in the first round when they traded up to No. 2 to select receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter.

General Manager James Gladstone told reporters after the trade and selection that he and Browns G.M. Andrew Berry had been working through the details of the deal for the last two weeks.

“The fact that it came to life as seamlessly as it did once the bell rang is something that was fulfilling,” Gladstone said, via transcript from the team. “Being able to sit here tonight with Travis Hunter as a Jacksonville Jaguar is a vision that Liam [Coen], myself, Tony [Boselli] and the rest of our coaching staff and scouting staff certainly have a collective vision for and are really interested in getting him here, getting him to the city, letting our fanbase begin to feel him and ultimately his teammates begin to get to work with him.”

Gladstone noted that there were “a lot of layers” to why the club wanted to trade up to bring Hunter in.

“First and foremost, we mentioned the idea that, a trademark of this leadership group, when there’s an opportunity to be bold, we’re not going to flinch. I think this is a reflection of that,” Gladstone said. “In the same lens, you’ve heard us mention the idea of adding people who are intangibly rich, and Travis, in fact, as a player, is rare. As a person, he’s also rare. Beyond that, when we say that the idea of inviting people into our ecosystem who by being nothing more than who they are elevate the space, is the epitome of what Travis is. We’re not going to ask him to be any more than him because by doing so, he elevates not only this football team, not only this city, but the sport itself, right?

“Along the way you can count however many drafts you want to, there are players who have the capacity to alter a game. 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. 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’s 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.”

The Jaguars plan to have Hunter primarily focus on offense while learning the defense throughout the offseason.

While the Jags gave up plenty to get Hunter — including next year’s first-round pick — Gladstone noted that he has plenty of familiarity working without a selection in the top 32 given his experience with the Rams.

“For our fans, I’ll tell you, don’t be scared,” Gladstone said. “This is something I’m uniquely positioned to navigate. We ended up bringing Travis Hunter to Jacksonville, and with that, he is somebody who is deserving of a first-round draft pick as a wide receiver, and he is worthy of a first-round draft pick as a corner. Certainly, look forward to each of those elements showing themselves over the next few years while he is under his rookie contract, but yeah, we’re excited about just getting him in the boat, so to speak.”