Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone appreciates what he’s seen from top pick Travis Hunter thus far in the rookie’s young career.
Hunter was selected by the franchise after a blockbuster trade up to the second-overall pick from fifth-overall with the Cleveland Browns. Selecting Hunter has been seen as the rookie GM’s first major move and a potentially career-defining move at that.
The move was considered bold for a multitude of reasons, including that Hunter’s primary specialty lies in his ability to operate on both sides of the football at wide receiver and cornerback. Though initial questions about his opportunity to do that at the NFL level persisted, Jacksonville has quieted down any rhetoric to suggest he won’t.
The Jaguars cross-trained the rookie two-way player throughout the offseason program, with Hunter operating on the defensive side of the football every three practices. During mandatory minicamp, he spent two days at receiver and the last period of the last day at corner.
Undoubtedly, Hunter has spent more time at receiver than at corner since being drafted, but that’s by design and shouldn’t be read into when attempting to figure out his future role. Gladstone is certainly convinced Hunter is on the right track and explained the team’s plans on SiriusXM Radio.
“The windows for development in the NFL, they are few and far between, right? The offseason program is where it exists in its healthiest state. Our understanding that Travis is most naturally comfortable, most naturally in tune on the defensive side of the ball,” Gladstone said on SiriusXM NFL Radio in June.
Hunter has always gravitated more to the defensive side of the football, and admitted during rookie minicamp that learning offense was the more challenging aspect of what he does.
“Not so much different. You just have to get used to it. A lot of different types of calls, but other than that, the defense is pretty easy. You just have to get used to the offense,” Hunter said in May.
That was born out in what the franchise has said repeatedly throughout the offseason and since Hunter was drafted. Gladstone reiterated the team’s thought process on SiriusXM.
“We wanted to load him offensively throughout this window to ensure that by the time we got to training camp, we had a runway built up on that side, because there’s so much more nuance, so much more adjustments in real time on the offensive side of the ball that would require a lot more learning,” Gladstone said.
Gladstone warned, too, that fans and observers shouldn’t read too much into Hunter’s workload during the offseason. Many presume Hunter will be used more extensively on the offensive side of the ball due to a variety of factors, including the team’s push for him to learn it. But that might not necessarily be the case.
“I do think there’s a little bit of a misconception in that it’s wide receiver first, corner second, as much as it is the learning methodology of wide receiver through this phase and then continuing to trickle in more defense, since that is his primary background,” Gladstone said.
How many snaps will Travis Hunter play for the Jaguars?
There’s no question that Hunter will play on both sides of the football for Jacksonville this year, but the question remains: how many?
Last year at Colorado, Hunter played 86.8% of the team’s offensive snaps and 902 (82.9%) of the team’s defensive snaps. No other FBS player played in more than 56% of his team’s snaps last year. No other FBS player has ever done what Hunter has done, not really. Players such as Charles Woodson and Champ Bailey have done some of that, but no one at Hunter’s level.
That’ll be doubly true in the big leagues, where players just don’t play on both sides of the ball, pretty much at all. If they do, there’s a position switch a la Hall of Fame return specialist Devin Hester with the Chicago Bears playing corner before switching to receiver as his secondary responsibilities.
So, will Hunter be able to do it? The Jaguars are going to let him try, but time will tell, said Gladstone.
“Time will truly tell. And I think the thing that you can, in fact, lean into at this stage is that he does not tire. He has got a spark. He has got the energy, the capacity, from a physical standpoint, just to be able to do it is certainly there. It’ll be in terms of one game to the next, where does it fit? Where does it make the most sense?” Gladstone asked.
The Jaguars will have several marquee games with game-breaking receivers. Their first test could come as early as Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals, with the team traveling up to face Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Perhaps the Jaguars lean more on Hunter’s defensive capabilities at that point.
“Certain game plans might dictate usage differently, so time will truly tell. I don’t know that one game to the next is going to be the exact same, but putting a number on it at this stage is probably premature. But I look forward to seeing how it really plays itself out here, and him earning his spot on both sides certainly going to be an opportunity for him. Got to take advantage of it here down the stretch,” said Gladstone.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky @ Demetrius.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: How many snaps will Travis Hunter play? Jacksonville Jaguars keeping all options on table
Reporting by Demetrius Harvey, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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