The Jacksonville Jaguars won't be able to retain all their pending free agents this offseason. That could most definitely hurt their chances of making a playoff push for the second straight year. Having two-way star Travis Hunter around should soften the blow, though, as he could take on a bigger role on defense.
There's a chance that cornerbacks Montaric Brown and Greg Newsome hit the open market. If they leave, the Jags may need to turn to the draft to find their potential replacements. However, Hunter could step into one starting stop within the boundaries. Heck, the team expects him to do just that. On top of that, he could get significant time on offense.
Of course, Jacksonville will need to wait for Hunter to come back from knee surgery, and even then, a couple of analysts wonder whether playing two ways full-time will be a realistic possibility for the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner.
NBC Sports wonders if Travis Hunter can truly play two ways for the Jaguars full-time
Patrick Daugherty and Denny Carter of NBC Sports talked about Travis Hunter's role on offense next season, arguing that he could be the No. 2 or No. 3 option in the passing game behind Jakobi Meyers and Parker Washington.
"I think we should be pretty cautious on Travis Hunter headed into next season, considering the Jaguars have a pretty good crop of wideouts, including Parker Washington, who was not just a thing for fantasy; he was a thing for real football," Daugherty stated. "Go football like he became the de facto wide receiver one for Trevor Lawrence down the stretch and into the postseason."
Daugherty continued, "I think that sticks going into next year, and I think Travis Hunter's sort of relegated to maybe the second or third or maybe even the fourth pass-catching option in this offense. Hopefully, it's a fun package of plays for Travis Hunter, because I think he can be a fun player. But it seems like the Jaguars are focusing on defense for now, for their former No. 1 pick."
Later in the exchange, Denny Carter opined that a silver lining of Hunter missing half his rookie campaign is that the Jags still went 13-4, so they should be better once he's back in the fold.
"If you're searching for any cope whatsoever, when it comes to Travis Hunter is an offensive player, it's that this team went 13-4. They don't have to get desperate. They can still take the time. They don't have to force the issue. Maybe they will just still keep Travis Hunter playing more on offense than we expect, despite their embarrassment of riches," Carter said.
For the sake of context, Carter and Daugherty were talking about Hunter in Fantasy Football terms but later touched on the real-world implications of the Jags' plan to have him play two ways full-time in 2026.
Keep in mind that Hunter split time at receiver and corner but didn't play either full-time, logging 67 percent of the team's total snaps on offense and 36 percent on defense.
Travis Hunter is in a position to become a a game-changer for the Jaguars in Year 2
Not long after Travis Hunter was placed on Injured Reserve, he underwent surgery to repair his LCL. He should be back at full strength at some point in the offseason and isn't expected to have any setbacks. That should allow No. 12 to pick up where he left off last year. And that's great news.
The Jaguars had an onboarding plan to help Hunter play two ways in the NFL. However, they had to make adjustments on the fly, as they didn't know at the time what worked best. That will no longer be the case, as the coaching staff now has a better idea of how to get the most out of the sophomore.
This, in turn, should allow Travis Hunter to live up to his game-altering billing coming out of college. Having shown flashes as a rookie, it's time he unlocks his full potential on offense and defense.