The Jacksonville Jaguars had to do some soul-searching in their BYE after losing two consecutive games. Things such as penalties and subpar execution held them back the first games of the season. Then again, not everything was doom and gloom. One silver lining was that Travis Hunter had a breakout game at receiver, hauling in eight receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7.
The expectation is that Hunter will continue to grow at both corner and receiver as the year progresses. However, an NFL executive believes the Jags are better off limiting him to one side of the ball to get the most out of him.
The Jaguars are being urged to keep Travis Hunter exclusively at corner
Mike Sando of The Athletic took a look at Travis Hunter's slow start to his NFL career. An anonymous executive told him that the Jags are better off having him play on defense only. Here's the skinny.
"There's not one trait other than ball skills that makes him different on offense," the exec told Sando. "To reach his highest level, he is going to be in one spot, and it's going to be at corner."
Another executive echoed the sentiment, arguing that Jacksonville should limit him to receiver this year and switch him to defense in 2026.
"The only way you prove that this worked is to let him play receiver this year, let him learn a complete offense, and then the next year, play him a majority on defense," the exec said. "You won't get value until like your third year."
So far, Hunter has played 462 total snaps in 2025 through seven games, the most among rookies. He's logged 67 percent of the Jags' offensive snaps and 36 percent on defense. At receiver, the former Colorado Buffalo has hauled in 28 receptions for 298 yards with one touchdown. 101 of those yards came against the Seahawks in Week 7, though. At corner, he's allowed nine receptions for 106 yards on 18 targets.
Before the draft, Hunter made it clear that he wouldn't go to a team that limited him to one side of the ball. From the get-go, the Jags were willing to fulfill his request.
The Jaguars knew Travis Hunter was going to be a project
You could make the case that Travis Hunter has been underwhelming, but the truth is that he's fared well when you take into account that aside from having to make the transition to the pros like other rookies, he's needed to do it while learning two positions. Heck, general manager James Gladstone has made it clear that the West Palm Beach, Florida native would solely focus on playing wide receiver early in his onboarding because of the nuances of the position.
Sure, Hunter hasn't yet made the impact he had at the collegiate level, but it would be baffling if the Jaguars just pull the plug on him and limit him to one side of the ball. If anything, they should be pleased with his progress thus far. In fact, his breakout game is a sign that they should stick to their approach.
And that's the thing, while several executives would like to limit Hunter to one side of the ball, several NFL voices think he's just getting started. Justin Melo of The Draft Network, in particular, believes the arrow is pointing up for Hunter's offensive output.
Of course, you want your first-round pick, especially one that went second overall, to have an immediate impact, but if the plan is to have a game-altering talent on both sides of the ball, the Jaguars have so far handled Travis Hunter's development well, and it doesn't make sense to deviate from the plan seven weeks into his rookie season.