The Jaguars paid a steep price to reel in former Colorado wide receiver/cornerback and 2024 Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter in last April’s draft. In moving up from the fifth pick to No. 2 overall, where they took Hunter, the Jaguars also sent two other 2025 selections – a second-rounder and a fourth-rounder – as well as their 2026 first-rounder to the Browns.
The trade that led Hunter to Jacksonville was a bold strike from Jaguars rookie general manager James Gladstone, especially considering the team was coming off a 4-13 season. Jacksonville orchestrated a dramatic turnaround during a 13-4 campaign in 2025, though. Adding to the surprise, the team pulled off its 180 despite limited contributions from Hunter.
After appearing in each of the Jaguars’ first seven games, Hunter suffered a non-contact knee injury in a late-October practice. The Jaguars immediately placed Hunter on IR. He underwent a season-ending LCL repair a week and a half later. The procedure came with a six-month recovery timeline, which should give Hunter ample room to gear up for what he and the Jags hope will be a more impactful 2026.
Hunter ended his rookie year with twice as many snaps on offense than defense (324 to 162). The 22-year-old shined as a receiver in his last game before the injury, but his production otherwise fell short of expectations. In a lopsided Week 7 loss to the Rams in London, Hunter caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. That was his lone score during a 28-catch, 298-yard campaign.
On the defensive side, Hunter tallied 15 tackles and three passes defensed. According to Pro-Football-Reference, Hunter allowed just nine completions on 18 targets when he was the nearest defender. Quarterbacks posted a paltry 68.3 passer rating when they threw his way.
A few days after Hunter underwent surgery, head coach Liam Coen said the team would evaluate his future as a two-way player. With the Jags’ season now over after a wild-card round loss to the Bills, they expect Hunter to continue in a two-way role in 2026.
“We still expect him to play on both sides of the ball,” Gladstone said this week (via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com). “The steps that he was taking by the midpoint of the season really made us feel good about what the back half of the year was going to be on both sides of the ball and what that impact was going to look like being a feature point on offense and an impact player on defense.”
In the wake of Hunter’s injury, Gladstone made a pre-trade deadline splash in acquiring receiver Jakobi Meyers from the Raiders on Nov. 4. The Jags were so impressed with Meyers that they locked him up on a three-year, $60MM extension a month and a half later. With Hunter returning, quarterback Trevor Lawrence will have an even stronger group of receivers to work with as the Jags try to defend their AFC South title and compete for a Super Bowl in 2026. Brian Thomas and Parker Washington are in line to join Hunter and Meyers as the Jags’ top four at the position.
Defensively, almost all of Hunter’s rookie snaps came as a boundary corner. Montaric Brown and Greg Newsome factored heavily into the mix there in 2025, but both players are slated to reach free agency in March. If they depart, it could put Hunter in prime position for more defensive work.
The definition of inanity…
Team was surprisingly very good this year. Too bad they wasted two first round picks on one small player. Could have used those picks to get over the hump. Almost like Sanders was a great salesman or something. Hmmm
Dismissing Hunter already is ridiculous
You can’t help but wonder how much play he sees at WR when he is the 4th best WR on his own team? Take into account how often the Jags integrate the TE and RB in the receiving game and seems like a terrible misuse of resources.
Having said that, it appears they finally got the Head Coach right, great season for the Jags!