2 weeks Ago By Ian Van Roy, NFL Analysis Network
The Cleveland Browns star was the most notable star on the franchise for a decade. And he saw his love for the Browns tested as they gave up on Travis Hunter. Travis Hunter was one of the biggest names heading into the 2025 NFL Draft.
He is also one of the few two-way players in NFL history who could regularly see action on both sides of the ball. It was clear that the cornerback/wide receiver combo player had a large market, with even Travis Hunter aware of his stock . However, while many expected him to be drafted in the first few picks, not many expected him to be selected by Jaguars GM James Gladstone .
It wasn’t cheap to get him. The Jacksonville Jaguars gave up their 2025 first-round pick, 2026 first-round pick, and swapped fourth-round picks while also getting a sixth-round pick from the Browns. Put simply, it was a gargantuan trade for the Cleveland Browns with implications for years to come.
Joe Thomas gives update on whether he still likes the Cleveland Browns It was a trade that could hurt one’s fandom. The Browns had Travis Hunter in their clutches, but opted for draft capital instead. Speaking in an Apr.
25 interview on the “Dan Patrick Show,” former Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas, who had been the best thing in Cleveland for a decade between 2007-2017, talked about Travis Hunter. “Well, it was a little tough last night. It was like, Christmas morning when you’re waking up and you’ve asked Santa for that one gift, and you’re just sure it’s coming, and then all of a sudden, you open it up and it’s like, ‘Hey, this is a gift certificate for next year’s Christmas,'” he said.
He added: “It would be hard for me to pass up on Travis Hunter, just because he’s a guy that can change the game on both sides of the ball. “You can never have enough good cornerbacks. You could never have enough good wide receivers.
” “It would have been nice to see him, because I think he’s just a great locker room guy, and it was a tough year for Browns fans, let’s be honest,” he continued. He concluded: “So to get a little bit of excitement and hope on draft day, which is typically our Super Bowl, would have been kind of nice. But I think when you look at the haul that they got, how do you turn that down? I mean, it was a historic haul for being able to just slide back a couple spots.
” Of course, it was all for nothing if the Browns don’t at least get one Travis Hunter-level talent or multiple stars that add up to what Hunter will do for the Jaguars. With Hunter also offering the chance to pop on offense and defense, the Browns could end up needing twice as many stars to make up the difference. Exploring how the Jacksonville Jaguars can face the Cleveland Browns Of course, with the trade complete and both teams set to face each other eventually, a showdown will now have a new layer added to it in the future.
The question is when the teams will play. The regular season schedule hasn’t been released yet (that happens on May 14). However, the list of opponents has already been revealed for the 2025 season.
The Jaguars don’t face the Browns in 2025, but they can face them in another potentially unlikely way. With both teams located in the AFC, the Jaguars can face the Browns in the playoffs. It would require both teams that just finished with a bottom-five record to reverse their fortune to be top-seven teams, but they are armed with a new wave of top-end rookies.
Will Travis Hunter face the team that skipped him in 2025? This article first appeared on NFL Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission..
