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New Jacksonville Jaguars' GM James Gladstone didn't waste any time before leaving his mark on the organization.
With his first pick as GM, he made a huge splash, trading up from pick No. 5 to pick No. 2 to select Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.
With the dust having settled on the selection, let's get to know the newest member of the Jaguars.
It's been decades since we've seen a player like Hunter. Not only does he play two positions, but he plays them at an extremely high level. Coming into this year's draft, The Athletic's Dane Brugler had Hunte ranked as his top wide receiver in the class and top cornerback.
Whether it's on offense or defense, what you'll notice about Hunter is his ball skills. As a wideout last season, he caught 79% of his 121 targets and averaged 13.1 yards per catch with 15 scores.
In coverage, meanwhile, opposing quarterbacks had a completion rate of only 56% when throwing his way on 41 targets. Hunter also had four interceptions, seven pass breakups, and held opponents to 10.0 yards per catch, per PFF.
Adam Schefter reported after the pick that the Jaguars are expected to play Hunter on both sides of the football. Jaguars' head coach Liam Coen was asked at the NFL league meetings about how he--hypothetically at that time--would handle Hunter playing on both sides of the ball.
“I think you have to be fluid as an organization,” Coen said via Jaguars on Sports Illustrated. "Because of his diversity, what he can do, the amount of snaps he plays.
"He's going to play both sides of the ball and that has to be an organizational buy-in from the coaches, the strength staff, the athletic training, sports performance, everybody has to be involved, as well as the coaches."
Schefter added that Hunter will be onboarded by playing a "heavy dose of the wide receiver position," while giving him opportunities on defense as well.
"Having patience with each side of ball," added Coen, "because you really don't want to kind of put him in a box. You really just want to, ‘Hey, what does he come in and do the best?’ You're going to be able to let him do both, so you're going to find out what he's best at and then, ‘Hey, let's mold things to that and be fluid for those conversations."
Given what Schefter reported, it sounds like--at least initially--we could see Hunter get a heavy dose of snaps on offense. This tracks with the reports that we heard before the draft about the Jaguars wanting to add to the offense.
In Coen's offense, he wants to spread the ball around, which having Hunter on the roster obviously helps with as it raises the level of play alongside Brian Thomas Jr. The trickle-down effect of spreading the ball and defenses having to worry about Hunter is that they can't solely focus on Thomas.
As far as defense goes, we will see what Hunter's workload looks like, but I could see him being on the field for more passing situations, where he can be a ball-hawk and won't have to worry about run support as much to reduce the number of hits he's taking each week.
Here is a snippet of what Brugler wrote about Hunter in his draft report:
"Overall, Hunter has the twitchy, skilled talent and competitive mentality to be an impact wide receiver and/or cornerback at the next level. NFL teams are split on his role — and on the possibility of Hunter playing both ways, because of durability concerns. But he is both CB1 and WR1 in this class and will give his next coaching staff exciting options."
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: 2025 NFL draft: 5 Things to know about Jaguars No. 2 pick Travis Hunter
Continue reading...
With his first pick as GM, he made a huge splash, trading up from pick No. 5 to pick No. 2 to select Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.
With the dust having settled on the selection, let's get to know the newest member of the Jaguars.
Travis Hunter is a two-way star
It's been decades since we've seen a player like Hunter. Not only does he play two positions, but he plays them at an extremely high level. Coming into this year's draft, The Athletic's Dane Brugler had Hunte ranked as his top wide receiver in the class and top cornerback.
Whether it's on offense or defense, what you'll notice about Hunter is his ball skills. As a wideout last season, he caught 79% of his 121 targets and averaged 13.1 yards per catch with 15 scores.
In coverage, meanwhile, opposing quarterbacks had a completion rate of only 56% when throwing his way on 41 targets. Hunter also had four interceptions, seven pass breakups, and held opponents to 10.0 yards per catch, per PFF.
What will he play with the Jaguars?
Adam Schefter reported after the pick that the Jaguars are expected to play Hunter on both sides of the football. Jaguars' head coach Liam Coen was asked at the NFL league meetings about how he--hypothetically at that time--would handle Hunter playing on both sides of the ball.
“I think you have to be fluid as an organization,” Coen said via Jaguars on Sports Illustrated. "Because of his diversity, what he can do, the amount of snaps he plays.
"He's going to play both sides of the ball and that has to be an organizational buy-in from the coaches, the strength staff, the athletic training, sports performance, everybody has to be involved, as well as the coaches."
Schefter added that Hunter will be onboarded by playing a "heavy dose of the wide receiver position," while giving him opportunities on defense as well.
"Having patience with each side of ball," added Coen, "because you really don't want to kind of put him in a box. You really just want to, ‘Hey, what does he come in and do the best?’ You're going to be able to let him do both, so you're going to find out what he's best at and then, ‘Hey, let's mold things to that and be fluid for those conversations."
Travis Hunter's fit with the Jaguars
Given what Schefter reported, it sounds like--at least initially--we could see Hunter get a heavy dose of snaps on offense. This tracks with the reports that we heard before the draft about the Jaguars wanting to add to the offense.
In Coen's offense, he wants to spread the ball around, which having Hunter on the roster obviously helps with as it raises the level of play alongside Brian Thomas Jr. The trickle-down effect of spreading the ball and defenses having to worry about Hunter is that they can't solely focus on Thomas.
As far as defense goes, we will see what Hunter's workload looks like, but I could see him being on the field for more passing situations, where he can be a ball-hawk and won't have to worry about run support as much to reduce the number of hits he's taking each week.
What does the scouting report say?
Here is a snippet of what Brugler wrote about Hunter in his draft report:
"Overall, Hunter has the twitchy, skilled talent and competitive mentality to be an impact wide receiver and/or cornerback at the next level. NFL teams are split on his role — and on the possibility of Hunter playing both ways, because of durability concerns. But he is both CB1 and WR1 in this class and will give his next coaching staff exciting options."
Travis Hunter's measurements
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: 2025 NFL draft: 5 Things to know about Jaguars No. 2 pick Travis Hunter
Continue reading...
