Jacksonville Jaguars rookie wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter will make his official NFL debut in Sunday's Week 1 matchup versus the Carolina Panthers. Jaguars head coach Liam Coen isn't revealing how he plans to deploy the two-way superstar. Hunter should primarily focus on playing receiver, while seeing a limited workload at cornerback via certain personnel packages.
Coen recently claimed the Jaguars were still "working through" their plan for Hunter in Week 1. The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner was sidelined for the latter portion of training camp and the preseason with an upper-body injury. The Jaguars should carefully manage his workload by not overstuffing his plate.
The Jaguars are still evaluating CB/WR Travis Hunter’s usage for Week 1 vs Carolina, per HC Liam Coen. pic.twitter.com/gXT8VdJFky
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) September 1, 2025
Hunter showed signs of legitimately playing both sides when healthy at camp. The former Colorado Buffaloes superstar began practicing regularly on both offense and defense during the same practice. In Jacksonville's preseason opener, Hunter was on the field for the first offensive possession, and then for the second and third defensive possessions.
Before being sidelined, Hunter had received a fairly equal amount of reps at both cornerback and receiver. Overall, Hunter spent more practice sessions at wideout, especially early. That's where he should spend the majority of reps versus the Panthers.
Hunter should essentially be an every-down player at receiver. The expectation is that he'll form an exciting pass-catching duo with sophomore wideout Brian Thomas Jr. for quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The Jaguars don't have a lot of depth at receiver.
Dyami Brown is expected to be the third receiver in 11 personnel, a staple package of Coen's offense. The Jaguars recently acquired veteran wideout Tim Patrick via trade, but he's a rotational player at best. Parker Washington will also contribute, but make no mistake, the Jaguars need Hunter to make an immediate impact on offense.
At cornerback, Tyson Campbell and sophomore third-round pick Jarrian Jones are expected to start outside in base defense. Jourdan Lewis was signed in free agency to play nickel. Lewis is one of the best slot cornerbacks in the NFL, so he should be locked into that position with regularity.
The smartest opportunity for Hunter to make an impact on defense is via third-and-long and obvious passing-down situations. In two seasons at Colorado, Hunter recorded seven interceptions and 16 pass breakups. Those ball skills could be a game-changer on passing downs.
Perhaps Hunter could replace Jones at boundary cornerback in those scenarios. Campbell—who signed a $76 million extension last July—and Lewis are veteran every-down players. Having Hunter occasionally replace Jones not only manages his reps at cornerback, but it also prevents the Jags from overworking their sophomore corner, offering him the occasional breather.
The Jaguars will approach Hunter's debut workload with caution after parting with so much capital to draft him. He played just 19 total snaps (offense/defense) during the preseason while nursing that upper-body injury. The way his summer was divided, Hunter should play most of his reps at receiver in Week 1, while occasionally getting opportunities to display his ball skills at cornerback in 3rd-and-long situations.
