Michael David Smith ,
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Jaguars rookie wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter had his biggest game on offense and continued to be a part-time player on defense in Monday night’s win over the Chiefs.
Hunter caught all three passes thrown to him, for a career-high 64 yards. That included his biggest play of the season, a 44-yard catch that helped to set up a Jaguars touchdown in the third quarter. He also had a 12-yard catch that got a first down on second-and-11, and his only catch that didn’t pick up a first down, an eight-yarder on third-and-13, set up the Jaguars for a 52-yard field goal that they might not have kicked without that catch getting them closer.
On offense, it was easily the biggest impact Hunter has made all season after entering Monday night averaging less than 30 receiving yards per game. Hunter had two first downs on Monday night; he had only picked three first downs in four games heading into Monday night.
Still, Hunter is not making the kind of impact at wide receiver that a team would expect from a No. 2 overall draft pick. The next two wide receivers taken in the 2025 NFL draft, Carolina’s Tetairoa McMillan and Tampa Bay’s Emeka Egbuka, are both averaging more catches and more yards per game than Hunter had on Monday night in his career-best game.
On defense, Hunter is playing, but not playing like the full-time starting cornerback that a No. 2 overall pick should be. Hunter played 39 percent of the Jaguars’ defensive snaps, which is exactly what he had been averaging through the first four games of the season.
Hunter is unique in that he’s the only player in the NFL who’s currently playing significant snaps on both offense and defense. Four other players have played on both offense and defense this season, but they all play a minimal role on the side of the ball that is not their specialty. Hunter plays a significant role on both the Jaguars’ offense and defense.
Overall, however, his contributions through five games do not justify the enormous price the Jaguars paid for him, which included trading the No. 5 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft and their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft to move up to No. 2 and select him. The Jaguars got more from Hunter than usual on Monday night, but they’ll need more still for his impact to be worth his cost.
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