Trevor Lawrence has no more excuses after Jacksonville Jaguars draft Travis Hunter, says Phoebe Schecter | NFL News

Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars have no more excuses for not competing among the NFL’s best after trading up to draft two-way sensation Travis Hunter, believes Sky Sports’ Phoebe Schecter. 

The Jags produced one of the biggest moves of the night on Thursday as they traded up from No 5 with the Cleveland Browns to select the Heisman Trophy-winning wide receiver and cornerback with the second overall pick.

Hunter has been touted as the next generational face of the NFL as he seeks to do what no player has done in 60 years by playing two positions on a full-time basis.

He joins up with a Jacksonville team led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who will now have both Hunter and last year’s first-round pick Brian Thomas Jr at his disposal.

“You saw Trevor Lawrence posting about it last night on social media,” said Schecter on Inside the Huddle.

“This is a two-for-one deal, they needed a receiver and needed a corner, and now they have that.

“The Jags had to be aggressive. They keep saying they are a team that is almost there and then Trevor Lawrence has had a lot of struggles so now you bring in a clear target for Lawrence to be able to throw to.

“It gets to a point where there can almost be no more excuses for Trevor Lawrence at this point, he’s got to be able to perform.”

Hunter played more than 700 offensive snaps and 700 defensive snaps at Colorado in 2024 as he finished the season with 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns in addition to 32 tackles, four interceptions and 11 pass breakups.

He promises to bolster a Jags offense that ranked 24th in passing yards last season, as well as a defense that ranked last with just nine takeaways.

“I think that trade was really a win-win situation,” said Sky Sports NFL‘s Jeff Reinebold. “Cleveland got a haul of picks and this trade takes some of the sting out of the Deshaun Watson deal and can be a turning point for the Browns.

“On the other side, you mention Gladstone (new Jaguars general manager James Gladstone), who comes out of the Les Snead school of being a general manager, if you will. And what do we know about Les Snead? If he likes a guy he will get rid of picks to get that guy.

“This guy was who they wanted. They got what they wanted. You can argue they needed interior defensive line help or this or that, but what they needed was a guy that brought some juice on offense.

“We can’t get out minds around the fact this guy plays two ways, it’s like getting two first-round draft picks. He was the highest-rated receiver on most boards and the highest-rated corner on most boards. I think it’s a positive sign.”

Sanders slides down the board

Hunter’s Colorado team-mate Shedeur Sanders was also among the most notable stories of the night, but for the wrong reasons.

The quarterback did not hear his name called during the first round despite having previously been touted as a potential top-three pick.

Sanders had been a high-profile name throughout his college career having played under father and NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders at both Jackson State and Colorado.

It appeared as though Sanders might get his call when the New York Giants traded up No 25 with the Houston Texans, only to instead select Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart.

“Cam Ward was by far the best quarterback on the board, and the Giants took Jaxson Dart after that. I don’t think it’s as surprising,” said Schecter.

“Yes a lot of people said he’s a first-round pick. But does he fit the needs of teams? Not many teams needed quarterbacks.

“I ultimately think it comes to the dog and pony show with Shedeur Sanders, you aren’t just getting Shedeur Sanders. I think it’s concerning to teams when you have only had one coach your entire life, is that a fair reflection of what you are like as a coachable athlete?”

“You have to look at it for what it is, and take Deion out of it if you can,” said Reinebold.

“Deion doesn’t throw the ball. When you look at Shedeur, where it was so interesting is really good evaluators of talent, including Bucky Brooks, had him as the No 1 quarterback throughout the draft and then others said there were little whispers.

“I don’t think the dog and pony show was helpful to him, frankly. I think there were questions about what teams would get.

“Deion made comments earlier in the season saying he would tell the NFL where his son would play and I think some just said ‘do we really need that?’.

“Yes he was successful, but he didn’t have a particularly big arm and struggled a lot of times with recognising where free rushers would come from, and got sacked way too many times.

“A quarterback will always be overvalued in the draft and when you combine all of those things, you could see it coming.”

Watch all three days of the 2025 NFL Draft live on Sky Sports from Thursday April 24-Saturday April 26.