The Jacksonville Jaguars have never been confused about Travis Hunter’s role.
In the 2025 NFL Draft, Jacksonville made a blockbuster move to trade up from the fifth- to second-overall pick for the right to draft Travis Hunter, a true two-way player out of Colorado. Their plan, at that time, was to continue playing Hunter on both sides of the ball, as a wide receiver and cornerback.
As of May 2026, that remains the team’s plans despite outside noise that could suggest otherwise.
When asked on the Rich Eisen Show this week if Hunter was done being a two-way player, Jaguars general manager James Gladstone responded as he always has: “Absolutely not. He is set to play both sides of the ball. The piece that I think we can expect to see is actually an uptick in corner usage.”
Likewise, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen reiterated that fact on the team’s own programming the same week. Coen was asked about how the team wants to use Hunter moving forward, referencing reports about Hunter playing just one position. He said nothing has changed.
“The plan has not changed at all, 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 those opportunities. Now, is it day-by-day in terms of what he looks like in his process of rehab, absolutely. But, the plan to play him on both sides of the ball as much as possible, that has absolutely stayed the same, stayed consistent,” Coen said via Jaguars.com.
“I think people look at, naturally, see that [former Jaguars corner] Greg Newsome II left and that there’s a spot there that people are just plugging him onto. Yeah, love for him to play as much as humanely possible on both sides of the ball,” he added.
Travis Hunter’s role has never changed, not really
Last season, Hunter was deployed on both sides of the football, accounting for 324 snaps played at receiver and 162 snaps played as a corner. Hunter finished the year with 28 catches for 298 yards and a touchdown on offense, adding 15 tackles (11 solos) and three pass breakups through seven games.
Coming out of the team’s Week 8 BYE week, Hunter sustained a serious right knee injury that required season-ending surgery to repair a torn LCL (lateral collateral ligament).
His abridged rookie season led to speculation about the team’s plans for Hunter’s usage moving forward. In addition, as Coen said, the franchise has a perceived clear hole at corner opposite Montaric Brown that points to the franchise using Hunter in that role more, thus quashing his prospects as a receiver.
That’s never been the team’s position, however. They’ve steadily maintained that their current plan is to use Hunter on both sides of the ball. There has never been a clean-cut indication on the number of snaps played, dating back to 2025.
“By default, you can expect there to be a higher emphasis on his placement,” Gladstone said in January, referencing Hunter’s primary position due to the team’s depth at corner. Still, Gladstone never said Hunter wouldn’t play on offense, deferring to Coen’s plan for the dynamic playmaker, and the team’s idea of using him both ways.
“I think from Liam’s perspective, he can share it, but the steps he was taking by the midpoint of the season really made us feel good about what the back half of the year was going to be like on both sides of the ball and what that impact was going to look like being a feature point on offense and an impact player on defense,” Gladstone added.
The Jaguars return to the field for Organized Team Activities later in May. Hunter’s availability is likely to be limited as he continues to rehab from his knee injury, but the expectation is for Hunter to be fully healthy for training camp. At that point, the debates can continue.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky at Demetrius.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars reiterate that Travis Hunter remains a two-way player in 2026
Reporting by Demetrius Harvey, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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