The Cleveland Browns will have a legitimate shot at selecting the best player in the 2025 NFL draft, Colorado star and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter if they do not get too cute with their pick.
While the Browns have a definite need for a quarterback, there is a real chance that one of them goes with the first overall pick and just as big of a chance that they don’t love any of the gunslingers in this class. A trade-down is still firmly an option for general manager Andrew Berry and his team, assuming a quarterback-needy team like the New York Giants or Las Vegas Raiders pull the trigger.
However, their best option may just be taking the best player available, and that is either Hunter or Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter. In a new mock draft written over at Daft on Draft, they have the Browns taking that route.
They land Hunter with the No. 2 overall pick.
Why Travis Hunter makes sense for the Browns
With the regression of both Martin Emerson Jr. and Greg Newsome II (who both enter contract years), the Browns need a cornerback. The only wide receivers on their roster with at least 15 career catches are Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman, and David Bell. By picking Hunter, the Browns draft an elite cornerback who can also fill a role on the offensive side of the ball.
While Hunter will not play on both sides of the ball full-time at the NFL level, it is harder to find a lockdown cornerback than it is a productive receiver. What if the Browns can land a lockdown cornerback who can also give them 10-to-15 snaps offensively in high-leverage situations?
What Daft on Draft had to say in their mock draft
With Miami’s Cam Ward going with the No. 1 overall pick in Daft on Draft’s mock draft, this is what they had to say on the selection of Hunter with the No. 2 overall pick:
“Do the Browns even want one of these quarterbacks? Would Shedeur Sanders be open to coming to Cleveland? Let’s take the best player on the board here. Congrats, Browns. You get the Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.”
Do you agree?
