Weeks and even days ahead of the NFL Draft, there was lots of speculation about what the Jacksonville Jaguars were going to do at No. 5. But hours before the first round began, chatter about them trading up to select Travis Hunter ramped up. Looking back, the Jags deserve praise for keeping their strategy close to the chest. Apparently, only one person outside the organization knew that the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner was going to be the pick. And you will be surprised to find out who it was.
Not long after the Jaguars made a deal with the Cleveland Browns to trade up for Hunter, Kay Adams revealed that the former Colorado standout spent the night before the draft looking for houses in the Jacksonville area on Zillow.
At first sight, this might not seem like a big deal. However, it's an indication and even confirmation that Hunter knew not only that the Jaguars were going to draft him, but that they had already worked out a deal with Cleveland.
Throughout most of the offseason and up until early April, defensive tackle Mason Graham was the favorite to be the pick at No. 5. It wasn't until just a couple weeks ago that running back Ashton Jeanty supplanted him as the frontrunner.
But then, something changed, and speculation that Jacksonville was going to make a bold move in the draft picked up steam. Hours before the first round, the likelihood of the Jaguars trading for Hunter increased considerably. In retrospect, it's possible that Ian Rapoport, who originally shared the scoop, only found out about the strategy after the deal to trade for the No. 2 was finalized.
Either way, the Jaguars now have a playmaker who can immediately contribute on both sides of the ball. Sure, trading up for him was a bit expensive, but it won't matter if he has the same impact he had at Colorado.
How did Travis Hunter ended up going to the Jaguars?
Back when the Jaguars were on pace to get the first overall pick in 2025, they were linked to Travis Hunter because they had Trevor Lawrence in the fold and no need for a pass rusher due to the presence of Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. However, the discussion decreased once they clinched the fifth overall selection.
While the Jaguars were still in position to draft a game-changer at No. 5, it was highly unlikely that Hunter would make it there. A trade-up seemed to be the only possibility to land the West Palm Beach, Florida native, and the price of getting it done was going to be steep. It didn't matter.
The Jaguars knew Travis Hunter was their guy, and he was so sure that they were going to go get him that he went house hunting the day before the draft.