Travis Hunter remains one of the most intriguing second-year players heading into next season, and the Jacksonville Jaguars now appear to have a clearer vision for how they plan to use him.
The organization still intends for Hunter to continue as a two-way player. Despite skepticism surrounding that role, general manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen reiterated that the plan remains unchanged.
“The plan has not changed at all,” Coen said in a video produced by the Jaguars. “He’s going to play both sides of the football just as we drafted him to do. We have the same vision for him in terms of being able to give him opportunities.”
Prior to suffering a season-ending torn LCL, Hunter split time on both sides of the ball, logging roughly 61% of his snaps on offense and 37% on defense as a rookie.
Gladstone provided an update on Hunter’s recovery during an appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Wednesday morning, offering insight into his progress as he works back from injury.
“He’s in a good spot,” Gladstone said. “He’s out on the grass in a limited fashion and that’s the case throughout the remainder of the offseason program. As we get going into training camp, he’ll be full go.”
Speculation about Hunter potentially shifting to cornerback full-time this offseason has drawn national attention, but Gladstone made the Jaguars’ plans clear when addressing his role.
“Absolutely not,” Gladstone said. “He is set to play both sides of the ball. The piece I think we can expect is an uptick in corner usage. Last year, he had a higher volume and a higher percentage of snaps at wide receiver than he did at corner.”
The growing national buzz around Hunter’s breakout potential was also highlighted by our reporter Greg Auman. Auman named Hunter as his top second-year breakout candidate poised to make a leap next season.
“Hunter’s on course to be fully recovered by the start of training camp, and it should be a simpler second season for him,” Auman wrote. “It remains to be seen how much work he’ll get on offense — the Jaguars traded for Jakobi Meyers during last season and gave him a lucrative extension, and they’ve held off on trading third-year receiver Brian Thomas Jr., with Parker Washington enjoying a breakout season last year. Hunter should be an every-down corner, and that side of the ball should be his focus and the best chance for him to shine. Jacksonville let Greg Newsome leave in free agency and didn’t draft a corner, setting Hunter up for a central role.”
Hunter’s increased usage is also tied to the departures of Greg Newsome II and Tyson Campbell in free agency. As currently constructed, the cornerback room is set to feature Hunter, Jarrian Jones, Montaric Brown, and Jourdan Lewis.
“Our roster construction is different than it was a year ago,” Gladstone said. “It’s more fitting to slot him in at corner in a different way than it was this time last year or even as the season progressed.”
For now, the Jaguars remain committed to that vision as they manage Hunter’s recovery and refine how his workload will be balanced on both sides of the ball.
“He wants to play both ways,” Gladstone said. “He wants to do exactly what he set out to do when he first started putting that into action all those years ago and that’s his dream. We’ll look to support that in the best way that we can.”
