Travis Hunter Settling In at Corner Despite Jaguars’ Dual-Role Talk

Jaguars general manager James Gladstone, who drew criticism for leverage too much draft capital to move up and select two-way player Travis Hunter in the 2025 draft, has been trying to push back on the narrative about the prospect now being primarily a cornerback.

But people aren’t buying it.

Gladstone has done recent national interviews in which he has still couched Hunter as someone who can make a significant impact on offense and defense .

“He is set to play both sides of the ball,” the GM said on The Rich Eisen Show, for instance, but skepticism had already been growing about the team’s to truly develop the top-five pick in such a manner and whether he was spread too thin.

And that was before Hunter, who the Jags moved up to make the second pick in the draft, suffered a season-ending knee injury

Too Tall A Task

There are only a limited number of practice sessions and practice time, and getting him work at receiver and corner, especially in special situations, is difficult. 

And some who were concerned that he might be too slight to do both at the NFL level, as he did in college, pointed to his injury a year ago as a potential sign of as much. 

The Jaguars were installing a new offense and new defense as well, making the task tougher, and Hunter clearly has difficulty finding his way on their passing game.

“If he is going to be an impact player, it’s going to be at corner,” said one longtime NFL exec who watched Hunter closely in college and believes in his coverage skills. “

That’s where he needs to be developed. The other thing (offense) is kind of a gimmick to me.”

Now, with Hunter coming off injury and already dealing with a rookie season cut short by injury, the reps preparing for the season are crucial. 

From what we gather those are going to be overwhelming on defense. 

Given what Gladstone parted with to land Hunter, there is an outward desire to present him as a weapon on both sides of the ball, and perhaps more of that shows over time, but getting Hunter to be a shutdown corner has to be the priority now, and it almost certainly will be.