The Jacksonville Jaguars got a steal with Jakobi Meyers at the trade deadline and then inked him to a three-year deal on Thursday to bolster their offensive attack. He’s been a welcomed addition to the Jags, with 355 receiving yards and six touchdowns in six games. With Travis Hunter’s injury this year, it made sense for them to anchor down their receiver room.
Doing so should ease the pressure on Hunter in his return. The Jags were trying to use Hunter on both sides of the ball this year, and it didn’t really work. It makes more sense for them to use him primarily on one side of the ball and sparingly on another. Now that Meyers is around long term, it means the Jaguars might finally have an answer to their Travis Hunter problem.
Jacksonville Jaguars seemingly make decision on Travis Hunter position dilemma
When next season starts, we shouldn’t see Hunter splitting all of his time on both sides. I know they drafted him as a two-way star, but that just hasn’t worked out in the NFL like they would have hoped. Now that he’s coming off a major injury, the Jags have to rethink how they want to expend their top pick.
I think the best way to use Hunter with the Meyers extension is in special situations on offense, particularly on third down and when they need all of their best players on the field. That also means he should be primarily used on defense to fill their massive gap in the secondary. They wanted him to be both a corner and receiver, and they can still do that, but they need to use him as a defensive back.
This year, he didn’t really make an impact on either side of the ball, even if his season was cut short. He finished with just 298 receiving yards and one touchdown in seven games on offense and 11 tackles with three passes defensed and no interceptions on defense. If they want the elite talent they thought Hunter would be, they need to let him grow and develop on one side of the ball.
What does Jakobi Meyers extension mean for Jacksonville, Travis Hunter moving forward?
With Meyers’ extension, there’s some good and bad to come from this. The good thing is Jacksonville gets receiver depth. Even if they hope to use Hunter as a receiver next season, they have three guys that explosive plays waiting to happen. Thomas and Hunter are both still on rookie deals, so there’s no pressure to have to decide who they’re going to keep.
That also means Jacksonville can take their time easing Hunter back into the receiver role. Coming off injury, with Meyers’ new deal, Hunter will probably be WR3 to start the year. This will give the Jags more reason to experiment with Hunter more as a cornerback.
Hunter had tough tasks this season, having to follow Ja’Marr Chase all over the field at one point in his rookie season. If Jacksonville truly uses Hunter more as a receiver that would be the best approach, that way they can still get some value for overspending for him in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Which is the bad; the Jags gave up a lot for a player they just can’t figure out how to play. Signing Meyers to an extension just makes it feel like they are passing on giving him a chance on offense. That’s fine, but they gave up a lot for him to contribute on both sides. If they want to see that investment payoff, he needs the reps.
Meyers is going to have a bigger role on offense, which means Hunter won’t. It could work out in the long run, but for now, Hunter is going to have less of a role than what he was drafted to do, and the Jaguars could regret trading up for him if they don’t incorporate him like they originally planned.