In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars traded the No. 5-overall pick, their second- and fourth-round picks to the Cleveland Browns for the No. 2-overall pick. Oh, and they also threw in their 2026 first rounder as well, all to select University of Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter.
At the time, the Jags explained that the haul was worth it because they would essentially be getting two players in the trade. That is if Hunter was a stud cornerback and a stud wide receiver like they envisioned.
So far, he’s been neither. And Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says that it’s time for the Jaguars to pick a side and stick with it.
“Through six games, Hunter has participated in 63 percent of the offensive snaps and 39 percent of the defensive snaps,” Florio writes. “That’s basically the same as playing 100 percent of the snaps on one side of the ball and making a cameo appearance on the other.
“So why not just do that? Ideally, he’d be primarily a receiver and a limited-time defensive back. But even if it goes the other way, where he’s a full-time cornerback with spot duty at receiver, it would be far better for him to reach his full potential at one position than to be a guy who doesn’t make a high-level impact at either.”
Jaguars could be the dog, and Travis Hunter is the bone
Have you ever heard the story of the dog with the bone in his mouth that sees his reflection in the creek? I’m paraphrasing here, but a dog with a bone in his mouth sees his reflection when he looks down in the water and thinks it’s another dog…with another bone. The dog thinks if he could take that bone from the other dog, then he’d have two bones. Of course, the dog is stupid and loses the bone he has in his attempt to get the second one.
Now, he has no bones.
The Jaguars could be that dog. In their attempt to get two of something, they could get none.
Heading into Sunday’s game against the Rams, Hunter has 20 receptions for 197 yards and no touchdowns. Of those 20 catches, only seven produced first downs. On defense, he hasn’t been much better. Hunter doesn’t have any interceptions and he forced on fumble.
The Jaguars probably could have gotten this much production from a pair of fourth rounders.
Jags should pick one side of the ball for Travis Hunter and go from there
It’s probably too early to tell, but you get the idea that this kind of draft-day trade is what happens when you give the keys to the franchise to a 34-year old general manager. I don’t know this to be true, but I have a feeling James Gladstone was all excited to make some fantasy football draft trades back in April.
Again, it’s early and no one is saying that the Hunter thing isn’t working out. The observations seem to be that he needs to be handled differently. I can’t remember the last time I heard someone suggest he should play full time on both sides of the ball.
“Before the season, coach Liam Coen expressed confidence that Hunter could win offensive rookie of the year AND defensive rookie of the year,” Florio continues. “Currently, Hunter is 90-1 to win OROY, and 40-1 to win DROY.
“Maybe they’re still working toward using him more on both sides of the ball. Or maybe this is all it’s ever going to be, and they’ll keep using him for less than all of the game on both sides of the ball to prove they did the right thing by giving up so much to get him.”
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