The smartest thing the Cleveland Browns did this offseason was trade the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to make strategizing for Travis Hunter’s unique skill the Jacksonville Jaguars’ problem — stealing a 2026 first round pick as part of the compensation of the trade. What the Jaguars are finding out is that while Hunter solves two problems with one player, it makes it extremely hard to figure out how to get the most out of him.
What you have to remember is Hunter, though he did win the Heisman, wasn’t the best receiver or cornerback in college football last season. He was extremely talented and really athletic, but he wasn’t elite at either position. Because of that, the Jaguars got a really talented player with nowhere to actually play him.
The Jaguars teased throughout the preseason how they would utilize him and talked about how he’d see action on both sides of the field, but right now, he’s not even half the threat he was in college as a receiver or defensive back and that’s a problem. It was always going to be difficult trying to build a strategy around him. While he’s learning what it means to be an NFL player, he’s dealing with two different sides of the ball and little preparation for both.
Is this a Hunter problem or a Jacksonville problem? I guess we’ll have to wait to see how the rest of the season unfolds, but through the first four games, the Jags aren’t getting the elite two-way star they thought they were getting and Hunter is being under utilized as an uber athlete.
How Jacksonville can figure out how to get the most out of Travis Hunter
I have no doubt the Jaguars will figure out how to utilize Hunter the best way they can, but right now the best thing they can do for him is have him as either exclusively an offensive or defensive player; not both. He’s not impacting the game for Jacksonville on either side of the ball right now and continuing to experiment with him on both sides is wasting him and his potential.
In my opinion, they should have him exclusively as a wide receiver until at least the bye week, if not the whole season. Hunter can have so much more of an impact as a receiver and this offense, while off to a strong start, could always use another weapon. The Jags have nine interceptions as a team and Hunter has none of them. Why expend him on that side of that ball when you don’t necessarily need him there right now.
I think allowing him to grow as a receiver first will help him find his confidence while also truly utilizing his athleticism to the max. Once he truly learns how to impact the game as a receiver that could also in turn, help him maximize his impact on defense as he’ll know what to expect from opposing receivers.
Simply playing him on both sides of the ball just because he can right now isn’t helping him or this team. As the No. 2 pick, Hunter is supposed to have one of the biggest roles on this team. The fact that the Jaguars can’t figure out how to give him a bigger role goes to show why it was always going to be difficult getting a player of Hunter’s caliber to play even close to the level he did in college, in the NFL.
Will Travis Hunter ever be the two-way star he was at Colorado?
I think Hunter could ultimately be a two-way player in the NFL, but to have the impact he did in the NFL like he did in college, I just don’t see how he’ll be able to pull that off. In just four games, we’re already seeing how difficult it is to have him impact one side of the ball. In the NFL, the talent level is significantly better than in college.
Part of his struggles is the Jaguars – like many NFL teams – didn’t know how to handle a player like Hunter that can play two positions. But with a player like that, you have to have a primary position and a secondary one. The Jags should have used Hunter primarily as a receiver to start the year.
That’s where he’ll have the biggest impact and where he can get used to playing in the NFL. As a defensive back, he’s not going to be able to impact the game like he would as a receiver. He could eventually get there, but it’s not something that was going to happen his rookie season. The one thing the Jaguars need to do is exercise patience when it comes to Hunter.
He doesn’t have to be an elite receiver and elite defensive back before his rookie contract is up. But if he can become an elite receiver while playing some nickel cornerback sparingly, that will help him evolve into a true two-way star. What you have to remember is the only reason Hunter is considered good enough to play both sides is because of his unreal athleticism.
If the Jaguars force the two-way narrative, they’ll never see how good Hunter can be and they’ll ruin his potential. But if they work him at receiver while slowly moving him into some defensive sets it could ultimately help him grow as a true two-way athlete in the NFL and it will take more than a season for Hunter to get there as the Jaguars are rapidly starting to grasp.