The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft is in the books, and the Cleveland Browns made the most shocking move of the night when they traded the No. 2 overall pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a package centered around the No. 5 pick and a first-round selection in 2026.
Declaring winners and losers after the first round is an annual ritual, and one analyst named the Browns as one of the biggest winners.
Jeffri Chadiha of NFL.com praised the Browns despite passing on two top prospects.
“There might be some haters who question why Browns general manager Andrew Berry passed on the chance to draft Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter, but Cleveland fans should be happy with his Day 1 moves,” Chadiha wrote. “That first-round pick next year has the chance to be especially valuable, while the additional second-round selection could easily bring a quarterback to Cleveland on Friday. Oh yeah; the Browns also landed Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham with the fifth pick, which is a nice deal, as well.”
Some are surely upset that the Browns did not pick Hunter or Carter, but Graham is seen as the best defensive tackle in the draft and should be an immediate difference-maker in the middle.
The Browns aren’t seen as being one player away from contention, so getting a handful of picks is a great way to recoup some of the damage that the Deshaun Watson trade did to the franchise.
Cleveland must have had questions about whether or not Hunter could be as good as advertised, and it now has picks Nos. 33 and 36 to begin the second round to soften the blow of missing out on the two-way star.
NEXT: Insider Urges Browns To Take 2 Positions With Day 2 Picks
