The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Travis Hunter with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after his two-way career at Colorado. The Jags had to trade up with a big package for the right to take Hunter.
That suggested that, at the time, the Jaguars believed in Hunter’s chances of doing the two-way routine at the highest level. It’s rare that a wide receiver or cornerback gets taken second overall, but when he can do both, it’s a whole different story.
The problem with the narrative so far is that Hunter isn’t doing much of both.
Specifically in this 2026 season, Hunter’s second in the league, he’s playing almost exclusively defense.
The Jaguars don’t get the spotlight a ton, but for the next couple weeks, fans waking up early to watch football will get to watch the Jags play in London.
And those wondering about Hunter probably won’t see him on offense very much.
Why Isn’t Travis Hunter Playing Offense?
The answer to Hunter’s lack of action on offense is an overlap with his frequent playing time on defense.
The reality is, as one would expect, that it’s hard to do both.
A cornerback needs to be on the field for the majority of plays. That’s the only way to stay in rhythm, learn what the other offense is doing, and figure out how to guard the receiver that’s in front of you through the course of a game.
A wide receiver doesn’t need that as much. Coming in and out of the game doesn’t necessarily stifle anything.
So right off the bat, the necessities for the two roles tip the scales toward defense.
It’s more than that in Jacksonville, though. They also have three high-end wide receivers in Parker Washington, Brian Thomas Jr. and Jakobi Meyers. The Jags don’t even have to stress about getting Hunter in on offense as if they’re lacking playmakers — they already have plenty.
And then there’s the conundrum of limited Hunter usage. If you don’t play him much, but he trots on for a play every now and then, it often signals to the defense that he’s getting the ball. Of course, you can also use that to an offensive advantage with him as a decoy, but it is tough to run just a few Hunter-specific packages and do it well.
Travis Hunter Usage
Hunter’s only two offensive touches of the season so far came in Week 1. He had one catch for eight yards and one run for three yards. That week, he played 29 defensive snaps and four offensive snaps.
In Week 2, he raised it to 37 defensive snaps with six offensive snaps (and one on special teams).
Week 3 saw Hunter get up to 45 defensive snaps (71.4% of plays) and five offensive snaps.
And in Week 4, Hunter took the most drastic swing yet — he played 76 defensive snaps, which was 100% of the plays the Jags ran on that side. He didn’t get a single offensive snap.
It’s not guaranteed to look like that every week, but it’s clear the way the Jaguars are leaning on this.
Why Travis Hunter Isn’t Playing Offense, Instead Almost All Defense for Jaguars