The Cleveland Browns have very, very often hit on top draft picks in recent years. Myles Garrett is their biggest success story on that front, and you can throw Greg Newsome II, Denzel Ward and David Njoku into that mix.
This year, they had the opportunity to take Travis Hunter at 2nd overall, and to add to their pretty great track record of selecting truly impactful players in the first round. Hunter would have been two picks in one for Cleveland, adding a weapon to both the cornerback room and to the wide receiver room. He was going to be a franchise talent alongside Garrett, Njoku, and Ward.
Was, Would, Could.
Instead, general manager Andrew Berry decided to punt some of his remaining goodwill with Browns fans, trading down from the second overall pick in exchange for the fifth overall pick from the Jacksonville Jaguars. They get a franchise altering player. Cleveland (likely) gets a tackle or defensive lineman.
And, to be fair, the Browns also receive the Jaguars' 2026 first round pick, and Jacksonville's second rounder in this year's draft. In addition, they're also receiving Jacksonville's 4th round pick.
Read more: Browns' first round trade-back strategy revealed (and fans will hate it)
Browns completely whiff on easiest pick
These are the moves that define the Browns as a franchise, unfortunately. The sure-fire pick, the obvious selection, the clear and only choice at second overall was still not good enough for Cleveland to just stand firm on.
They had to finesse. They had to make a move. And, they had to go from taking a player that could score points for them to one that will be likely protecting whichever subpar quarterback they start in 2025.
Now, Hunter will go play for the Jaguars, who will have him catching passes from the very promising quarterback there, Trevor Lawrence. It's only fair that he gets to go play for a signal caller who is actually a familiar face and starter for the franchise, as opposed to playing for a team like the Browns who still don't know what to do at quarterback.
But, it still stings. Hunter, and the teasing about his potential for this team and in the NFL from Berry himself, made it seem like Cleveland was leaning heavily towards taking him and solidifying both their offense and their secondary. Now, it's obvious that Berry's talking up of Hunter was just to boost his stock past the soaring heights it reached all offseason.
Clearly, that strategy worked, especially considering the haul here. But, Hunter in exchange for mystery box-like picks is never going to sit right, and it's just an additional "what if" in the long line of them in Browns draft history.