Jaguars trade up for Travis Hunter in NFL Draft; Shedeur Sanders still available; Thunder’s historic comeback

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Happy Friday, everyone! Let’s get right to it.

🏈 Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE FIRST-ROUND NFL DRAFT PICKS

The first round of the NFL Draft is in the books — here are the full results — and 32 young men have seen their dreams become reality. That’s worth celebrating no matter what the future holds.

And that future starts now. Cam Ward predictably went No. 1 overall to the Titans, the latest step in a remarkable rise from zero-star recruit to Incarnate Word (FCS) to Washington State to Miami.

Ward to Tennessee has been months in the making, but that shouldn’t make it any less exciting for Titans faithful. Ward is wonderfully creative and smooth and can make every type of throw. A downside is he does try to make every throw. Here’s Ward’s scouting report and outlook in Tennessee.

Then came the drama. The Jaguars traded with the Browns to rise from No. 5 to No. 2 and select Heisman-winning WR/CB Travis Hunter, and yes, Jacksonville plans to use him on both sides of the ball. The Jaguars gave up a ton — including a 2026 first-round pick — but they came out in front in Cody Benjamin’s trade grades and got an even better mark in Pete Prisco’s grades of every first-round pick.

• Prisco: “This is the move the franchise had to make. Hunter is a star, the best player in this draft. Jacksonville had to be bold now and this is bold. It’s a great move. Grade: A+“

I couldn’t agree more. This guy is a WR1 and CB1. He’s drawn comparisons to Justin Jefferson and Champ Bailey. New Jacksonville GM James Gladstone was among John Breech’s Round 1 winners.

Here’s how the rest of the first half-dozen picks went:

• Abdul Carter went third to the Giants. That New York pass rush is fearsome, especially with the team picking up Kayvon Thibodeaux‘s fifth-year option.
• Will Campbell went fourth to the Patriots and had a heartwarming reaction, emotionally vowing to “fight and die to protect” Drake Maye. Tyler Sullivan says it was the smart pick by New England, though not without risks.
• Mason Graham went fifth to the Browns. It may not be the most exciting pick, but it was a solid trade by Cleveland, Jeff Kerr says.
• Ashton Jeanty went sixth to the Raiders, and Nick Saban compared him to one of his former Alabama stars.

Shedeur Sanders watch began with the Saints at No. 9, but — spoiler alert — he didn’t get drafted on night one. More on that in a bit.

Another quarterback did, though: The Giants traded with the Texans to get back into the first round and selected Jaxson Dart 25th. New York also has Russell Wilson — who will begin the offseason as the starter — Jameis Winston and Tommy DeVito in its quarterback room. Jordan Dajani gave the trade a “B+” for New York because it can ease Dart into the NFL, but Pete gave the pick a “C-“ and said it was desperate.

The trades didn’t end there. After drafting Jalon Walker 15th, the Falcons jumped back into the first round — shockingly giving the Rams a 2026 first-round pick in the process — to take James Pearce Jr. When you’ve had the pass-rushing drought Atlanta’s had (one player with 10+ sacks in a season in the last decade), I guess you’ll go to stunning lengths, but wow.

Finally, the Eagles and Chiefs, two and a half months after their Super Bowl meeting, swapped picks, with Philadelphia moving to No. 31 and stopping Jihaad Campbell‘s slide. Yes, it’s another stud defender falling to the Eagles — he was one of Tyler’s Round 1 steals — and he’ll probably be awesome. But I also liked Kansas City picking Josh Simmons.

Here are more notable picks:

• The Panthers took Tetairoa McMillan at No. 8, which upset Micah Parsons.
• The Bears took Colston Loveland 10th, and Tyler Warren went to the Colts at No. 14. It’s the first time since 1973 that two tight ends went in the first 14 picks.
• In between, the Cowboys got Parsons a new player to battle in practice, selecting Tyler Booker at No. 12. Here’s why Dallas went with Booker over a wide receiver.
• The Steelers, thought of as a Sanders landing spot, went with Derrick Harmon at No. 21. That means it might just be Aaron Rodgers time in Pittsburgh after all, Cody writes in his “What we learned from Round 1.”
• The Packers drafted a first-round wide receiver for the first time since 2002. Selected 23rd, Matthew Golden is heading to Green Bay.

To wrap up, here’s every pick (with grades and analysis), the biggest surprises and how every first-rounder ranked as a recruit.

😃 Honorable mentions

🏈 And not such a good morning for …