There are always surprises in the NFL Draft, and the 2025 edition didn’t wait long to deliver its first. The Jacksonville Jaguars stunned the league by trading up from No. 5 to get the second pick from the Cleveland Browns and take Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter.
Hunter was considered by most talent evaluators to be the top overall player in this year’s draft. The price to land him wasn’t cheap for the Jags. They gave up the fifth overall pick, their second-round pick (No. 36 overall), a fourth-round pick (No. 126 overall) and their 2026 first-round pick. In addition to the No. 2 pick, Cleveland sent Jacksonville their fourth-round pick (No. 104 overall) and a sixth-rounder (No. 200).
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Here’s a look at the rest of the surprise picks of the draft:
Tetairoa McMillan to the Carolina Panthers with the No. 8 pick: McMillan was considered by many to be the top wide receiver in the 2025 class — it just isn’t considered a strong class for wide receivers. That made the Panthers taking him eighth to be somewhat of a surprise. It was certainly a surprise to Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons, who was disappointed McMillan didn’t fall to Dallas at No. 12.
Emeka Egbuka to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 19: Tampa Bay spending a first-round pick on a receiver when the Bucs already have Chris Godwin and Mike Evans came as a surprise. Texas’ Matthew Golden was also still on the board when the Buccaneers picked.
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