While Travis Hunter showed promise as a rookie, a knee injury prematurely brought his rookie season to an abrupt end. Fast forward to 2026, and the Jacksonville Jaguars have announced that the former Heisman Trophy winner will play corner full-time and only part-time receiver next season. This has led to an uproar on social media, even though it isn't breaking news.
After the end of 2025, general manager James Gladstone said that, because of roster needs, Hunter would play more defense next season. More recently, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media confirmed that No. 12 will play full-time corner and part-time receiver.
Following Rapoport's scoop, the Jags have gotten plenty of praise for putting Hunter in a position to reach his full potential, but they have also caught heat for abandoning their two-way vision and giving up a draft haul only to have him play corner. One local beat writer is having none of it and has gone scorched on all the misconceptions surrounding the Jags' adjustment for Hunter.
The Jaguars have been transparent about Travis Hunter playing CB full-time in 2026
John Shipley of Sports Illustrated recently talked about the decision to have Travis Hunter line up at corner full-time next season, noting that the Jaguars aren't giving up on him playing two ways but will rather decrease his workload at receiver a bit.
"But last year, we were not getting people completely misrepresenting the information," Shipley wrote. "Just in the last two days, we have seen an entire T.V. segment in which the host summed up his disappointment in Hunter 'no longer playing both sides of the ball'. The social media post of that segment, by NFL Network's Kyle Brandt, has since been deleted."
Shipley continued, "Brandt was far from the only one to fall for the lack of media literacy and lack of care for Jacksonville coverage. It has become the theme with Hunter's offseason. At zero point, have the Jaguars once indicated he will not play both ways, just as he did last year. He will just play more cornerback."
And that's the thing, Hunter played 67 percent of Jacksonville's snaps on offense and 36 percent on defense before he suffered the knee injury last year. With Montaric Brown holding onto a starting spot in the boundaries, Hunter could see close to 90 percent of the snaps on defense next season. Of course, that amount could decrease if the Jags bring in another cornerback.
At receiver, the Jags can afford to decrease Hunter's snap count due to the presence of Jakobi Meyers, Parker Washington, and Brian Thomas Jr. Something like 30-40 percent of the snaps on offense (his workload on defense in 2025) seems reasonable.
The Jaguars are trying to get the most out of Travis Hunter
The Jaguars aren't throwing in the towel on their plan to have Hunter play two ways. Instead, they're simply taking advantage of his flexible skill set.
Now, you could argue that Jacksonville's plan for No. 12 doesn't match the price he had to pay to trade up three spots in the 2025 draft for him. And sure, a first and a second are nothing to scoff at. However, it won't matter if he can make plays and help him win games. He'll accomplish that by having a more balanced workload.
The truth is that it would've been great to see Travis Hunter play two ways full-time in the NFL, but the Jaguars know it isn't feasible because of the physical toll. This is why they're making the right call by managing his workload without limiting him to just one side of the ball. They should reap the rewards in 2026.