What History Says About Price Jaguars Paid For Travis Hunter

Like politics at Thanksgiving dinner, the discussion surrounding whether the Jaguars gave up too much for Travis Hunter is a bit awkward. While every observer is excited to see his career get off the ground on Sept. 7, there are clearly two sides.

“I don't care what they gave the Cleveland Browns,” Kyle Brandt said on Good Morning Football the day after Jacksonville drafted Hunter second overall, after acquiring the pick in a trade with Cleveland. “I hate draft picks. They're pixie dust; they're lottery scratchers. Most of them amount to nothing; a large majority of them amount to mistakes made. There is no assurance that the Browns are going to nail those draft picks, or that the Jaguars would have if they kept them.”

If they kept those picks, they’d still have their first-round selection in 2026. But the Jaguars wouldn’t have Hunter. James Gladstone boldly consummated the blockbuster trade as his first significant decision as an NFL general manager. In exchange, Cleveland got a ransom.

The Browns dealt the No. 2, No. 104 and No. 200 overall choices to Gladstone. In return, Andrew Berry got the Jaguars’ No. 5 pick (Mason Graham), their second-rounder (No. 36, Quinshon Judkins), a fourth-round choice (No. 126, Dylan Sampson) and their 2026 first-round pick.

Brandt represents a large faction of NFL fans wearing Travis Hunter glasses, indifferent to what the Jaguars gave up. And for those who remain skeptical, the general manager explained his thought process a few hours after Gladstone and the Jaguars drafted Hunter.

“A trademark of this leadership group,” Gladstone said on Night 1 of the draft, “when there’s an opportunity to be bold, we’re not going to flinch. I think this is a reflection of that. 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.”

How much he elevates the football team is really the pivotal question, with regard to justifying what Jacksonville paid to move up three spots at the top of the first round. Even if he leads the league in total snaps multiple seasons, will he truly help the Jaguars win games and impact multiple journeys deep into January?

If not, and his ceiling winds up as simply a No. 2 wide receiver and nickel corner with limited production, obviously the price the Jaguars paid will land on the side of too much.

But give Gladstone credit. He’s earned the wait-and-see approach with Hunter because, not only did he swing for the EverBank Stadium fences, his NFL pedigree has proven successful. Mentor Les Snead with the Rams taught Gladstone that first-round draft picks developed by the team that drafted them aren’t always required to win Super Bowls.

The Rams have had just one first-round selection over the nine NFL drafts in which Sean McVay has been their head coach (2017-25). And after they won the Super Bowl in 2021, famously flipping their middle fingers at draft picks, they also successfully pivoted to a draft-and-develop model. Now, the Rams are a chic Super Bowl pick entering this season.

And if the Jaguars are going to earn Super Bowl berths, they’ll obviously need a lot more than Hunter to get there.

Don’t forget to visit X (Twitter) to follow both @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley and never miss breaking Jaguars stories.

Plus, check out our Facebook page -- a great way to connect with fans all over the globe -- by clicking here.