The Jacksonville Jaguars began the 2025 season with a decisive win over the Carolina Panthers, with the team proving that they are on the road to becoming a playoff contender this year. Trevor Lawrence had a solid performance, going 19-of-31 for 178 yards with one touchdown, and the defense definitely rebounded from its miserable showing in 2024.
But of course, the biggest question going into Week 1 was Travis Hunter. He's arguably the rookie with the most hype going into the season, and it's not hard to see why. The Jaguars traded up to number two specifically to land him in the draft, with Hunter making it clear he wanted to continue playing both sides of the ball in the NFL, as he had done in college.
Hunter made history in the preseason for taking snaps on both offense and defense, although it was, of course, in a limited capacity. No other player has done that in the NFL's modern Super Bowl era, and with Hunter repeating that feat during the Week 1 game against the Panthers, he cemented his place in the history books for good.
Travis Hunter has a historic first game
There have been questions all throughout the offseason about what role Hunter would truly play for both the offense and defense, as he has excelled at both. In college, he is the only player to ever have won the Chuck Bednarik and Fred Biletnikoff Awards for outstanding play on both offense and defense. He's fantastic at both, and inevitably, he will have to make one or the other a priority.
It had been assumed that Hunter's primary focus would be on offense, with him playing defense as a situational cornerback. That turned out to be exactly how head coach Liam Coen chose to utilize him, with Hunter spending the majority of his time on offense.
Final tally for Travis Hunter:
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 7, 2025
— 39 snaps on offense
— 6 snaps (10%) on defense
Per @NextGenStats. https://t.co/kYyVRpujQp
Hunter's performance itself was good, though he was not the most impactful performer on the field. He ended the day with four catches and one tackle; he could have had a fifth catch, but it was ruled out of bounds.
Regardless, this game seemed to confirm the rumors: Hunter will primarily be a wide receiver, and slot in only occasionally as a cornerback.
It did appear that the Jaguars were being cautious in their usage with him; after all, double the playing time equals double the chance at injury. Losing someone as talented as Hunter to injury is the last thing fans will want to see, especially early in the season. Hopefully, as the season goes on, some of that concern will abate, and we'll get a chance to see how much he really can do.