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The Jacksonville Jaguars made the blockbuster move of the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday, trading a bundle of picks to move up to No. 2 to select Colorado star Travis Hunter.
And for Jaguars owner Shad Khan, it was a pick that was a long time coming.
In a piece by The Athletic's Michael Silver from the Jaguars' war room on draft night, Khan made it clear how he views the blockbuster trade.
“One thing the Jags have always done well is building draft capital,” Khan said. “We’ve been great at stockpiling picks. And when it gets right down to it, what do you have to show for it?
“We need difference-makers. That’s what we got.”
The Jaguars entered the draft with 24 picks over the next two drafts. With that kind of ammo, the Jaguars knew they had the wriggle room to finally be aggressive after two years of trading down in the first round.
“You know what, I probably got some familiarity with the ‘F them picks’ sort of process. For our fans, I'll tell you, don't be scared. This is something I'm uniquely positioned to navigate," Jaguars general manager James Gladstone said after the first round.
"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.”
With Hunter now in the fold, the Jaguars have the type of game-changer Khan has long wanted to see added to the roster.
“Yeah, I think this was certainly a statement for how we plan to move, how we plan to operate. I think we did a lot of talking up to this point and wanted to make sure that we showed through action exactly what those words mean," Gladstone said.
"I think that this is certainly a reflection of a lot of the catchphrases, or so to speak, ‘catchphrases,’ that may have been presumed as much, but this is a real visual representation of what all that means.”
To find all of our draft content, follow us on X at @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley.
Get into the conversation on the big Travis Hunter trade and the big news by following our Facebook WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
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