After an illustrious collegiate career that culminated with the Heisman Trophy, Travis Hunter was the talk of the NFL. Where would he go? Would he really play two ways like he did at Colorado? In the end, Hunter ended up going to the Jacksonville Jaguars. And yes, the former Buffalo did play on both sides of the ball. However, he got off to a slow start to his rookie campaign, and when he was beginning to hit his stride, he suffered a season-ending injury.
Heading into Year 2, Hunter is under pressure to prove that the Jags made the right call when they made a bold swing to trade up for him. Fortunately, he has several things going in his favor.
For starters, Hunter's ahead of schedule on his recovery. Similarly, he'll see a bit of a decrease in his playing time at receiver, which will allow him to maximize his skills as a corner. Moreover, he's got the support from his teammates, including Josh Hines-Allen.
Josh Hines-Allen says the Jaguars have a playmaking corner in Travis Hunter
Josh Hines-Allen joined a roundtable on CBS Sports and heaped praise on Travis Hunter, pointing out that he's seen just how much of a game-changer he is in practice.
"When you talk about an athletic gift, he's just so gifted," Hines-Allen responded when asked what it's like to see Hunter in practice (19:33 mark). "He's like, the way he runs, the way he jumps, the way he moves. It's like, I don't want to play against him. If I'm a defensive player, and he gets a bubble screen, you got to turn and run like he got space. I would hate to go against him. Yeah, I would hate to go against him. And as a cornerback, man, I done see him make a lot of plays in practice."
Hines-Allen continued, "There was that one viral clip that was like, I remember right before that play, I want to see what he got, the practice play when he got the little diving interception, yeah, I'm talking to Liam on the side, 'Hey, Liam. Throw the ball to Travis, throw the ball to him, we want to see.' He's like, 'Alright, alright.' He called the play, took him deep. Man, I try to tell you, for me, playmakers play. And you want your best, as a defensive player, as a rusher, I would love for him to play corner all the time, personally, because I want my best players on the field at all times."
Here's the interception Hines-Allen is talking about.
Bro is a unicorn 🦄@TravisHunterJr | @Dream_Finders
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) June 3, 2025
Later in the sitdown, Hines-Allen says he feels great about the Jaguars cornerback room, pointing out that it's one of the best in the league.
"I think we have a really deep DB room. Yeah, I think we have one of the best DB rooms. I think with coach Camp, what he has doing, we just hired a new secondary coach, and they love him. And if your players love your coach, right, love their coach, then they can only go and bring a little bit more out of them. And so you add a guy like that, who can probably shut down the side of a field," Hines-Allen stated.
"Yeah, that first read ain't there, get a hit, get a little, it goes from a pressure, goes to a hit, to sacks, to force fumbles to 'I got to speed it up.' Let me throw this ball up. With their 50/50 balls, I think Travis is coming down with them."
Expected to make an impact in 2025, Hunter dealt with a bit of a steep learning curve as a rookie because he was learning the nuances of two positions. This is why he didn't make many game-altering plays early on. However, No. 12 broke out against the Los Angeles Rams, reeling in eight receptions for 101 yards with a touchdown.
Hunter ended up playing 67 percent of the team's total snaps on offense and 36 percent on defense. Even though he'll see an uptick in his workload at receiver, he'll continue to play receiver, albeit on a part-time basis.
The Jaguars are putting Travis Hunter in a position to make plays
While the Jaguars had an onboarding to help Travis Hunter make the transition to the pros, they were dealing with uncharted territory since players in the modern era don't play two ways. The team's brass had to make adjustments on the fly. But now that the Jags have a better idea, they should have no trouble getting the most out of him in the offseason program.
Sure, Hunter first needs to be 100 percent, but his recovery is coming along well. The West Palm Beach, Florida native should be ready by training camp or the preseason and should be able to pick up where he left off.
The fact that Hunter can be able to able to focus on playing corner will help him make the impact the Jaguars envisioned when they drafted him second overall in 2025.
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