AFC executive reacts to Browns passing on Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter with future in mind

The Cleveland Browns could've made Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter or pass-rusher Abdul Carter the second selection of the 2025 NFL Draft. 

Cleveland instead traded that asset along with fourth-round (No. 104) and sixth-round choices (No. 200) to the Jacksonville Jaguars for the No. 5 overall pick, a second-round selection (No. 36), a fourth-round choice (No. 126) and a 2026 first-round pick.

Cleveland ultimately grabbed defensive tackle Mason Graham at pick No. 5 before the club drafted running back Quinshon Judkins at selection No. 36. For a piece published on Tuesday, one unnamed AFC executive spoke with ESPN's Jeremy Fowler about what Browns general manager Andrew Berry accomplished during this year's draft. 

"It's hard to pass on Travis or Abdul at (pick No. 2), but you get a good young defensive tackle. ... That's a position that's really expensive now, so to get a rookie-scale player there is crucial," that executive said. "And this is really about 2026. Can they get their quarterback of the future there? They are going to find out."

The Browns took quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round of this year's draft before they traded up to select signal-caller Shedeur Sanders with overall pick No. 144. Nevertheless, local and national reporters seem convinced that either veteran Joe Flacco or 2022 first-round choice Kenny Pickett will be Cleveland's Week 1 starting quarterback this coming September. Thus, neither Sanders nor Gabriel may be able to do anything through January 2026 to prevent the Browns from acquiring a top-tier quarterback prospect in the first round of next year's draft. 

"The 2026 draft will have multiple QBs graded much higher than Gabriel and Sanders," Browns insider Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand recently wrote. "With two first-round picks at their disposal, the Browns will have the means to select one of them. I just can’t see the Browns allowing the 2026 QB draft pass them by – no matter what Gabriel and Sanders are able to accomplish this season. It doesn’t mean Gabriel and Sanders will be discarded. They’ll be back no matter what."

Meanwhile, multiple scouts told Fowler that the Browns may have picked up "their running back of the future" in Judkins. 

The Jaguars believe Hunter will become a superstar, considering what they gave up to draft him with the second overall pick of this year's player-selection process. If he meets such expectations and the Browns find a long-term franchise quarterback via the assets they acquired from Jacksonville, the April 24 deal could go down as one of the most memorable "win-win" trades in NFL history.