Trading out of No. 2 spot for huge haul is rare win for Browns

The Browns do not get many things right from a team-building perspective, but this could be one of the rare instances where they did. 

Hunter is an outstanding talent. He has a chance to be a franchise player and one that could make an impact on both sides of the ball as a wide receiver and cornerback. He is like getting two top prospects in one player. 

There is a ton of value in that, especially if the Jaguars can maximize his ability on both sides of the ball.

But the Browns are not just one player away from contending, no matter how good that player is or how much versatility they present. They need pretty much everything across the board, and now they are well positioned over the next two years to start building toward that.

With the No. 5 overall pick they selected defensive tackle Mason Graham from Michigan, who is also an elite prospect in this year's class. He also gives them another piece to a potentially dominant, game-wrecking defensive line alongside Myles Garrett.

The addition of the No. 36 pick also gives them three picks in the top 40 of this year's class which also presents a lot of opportunities for additional trades. They could move back into the first round. They could move back with those additional picks and keep collecting more.

The wild-card here is that 2026 first-round pick coming from Jacksonville. 

Given how bad the Jaguars have been in recent years, there is a very real chance that pick could be extremely high. If Jacksonville struggles again Cleveland could be looking at the possibility of getting a couple of picks at the top of a draft class that is expected to be far better for the one position the Browns need the most help at — quarterback. 

Even if that pick is not that high, having two first-round picks could give it enough assets to potentially move up in the draft to get the quarterback it will want and need. 

The Browns completely sabotaged their franchise a couple of years ago when they traded away multiple first-round picks for Deshaun Watson. They took a big step toward fixing all of that on Thursday night.

They still have to get all of the picks right. But they at least put themselves in a position to start building an entire team.