ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler set some expectations for <a href="https://www.on3.com/rivals/travis-hunter-144752/">Travis Hunter</a> and his ability to play both ways as a rookie for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars intend to play him at wide receiver and cornerback, like he did in college, right away.



How much he plays on both sides remains to be seen, but the general consensus is Hunter will play offense a little bit more than defense. The snap count total likely won’t be what it was in college, but Hunter will see the field a lot.



The Jaguars will be smart, per Fowler. They want to manage their star rookie at No. 2 overall pick the right way to make sure he plays at the highest level.



“Well, they’re trying to temper expectations a little bit, or at least I will, because when people think going both sides, they think he’s going to play 110-120 snaps. That’s just not going to happen. It’s not realistic in the NFL. But asking some other teams about what’s a good model for Hunter, they say maybe play 40 snaps on offense, 30 snaps on defense, or 45-25 … but it’s not going to be an insane amount of snaps. But they do believe … people who spent time with Hunter at <a href="https://www.on3.com/college/colorado-buffaloes/">Colorado</a>, they believe he’s that kind of special, not only player, but personality, where he can handle it, if anybody can. He’s really well conditioned. 



“The problem is, you put him out at cornerback and you play him a lot, he’s already playing offense, then they’re gonna have Derrick Henry, those big running guys coming right at you. You’re gonna have to tackle, that questions your durability a little bit. So those are some things he has to answer early.”



<a href="https://www.on3.com/pro/news/travis-hunter-listed-as-starting-wr-backup-cb-on-jaguars-initial-depth-chart/">Just last week, Hunter was listed as a starting wide receiver for the Jaguars, but a backup at cornerback.</a> That could develop into starting roles both ways though, at least as far as snaps are concerned.



Jaguars head coach Liam Coen <a href="https://x.com/RichEisenShow/status/1952437447599751413">spoke to Rich Eisen</a> to discuss the plan to play on both offense and defense. However, it appears that Hunter is taking more toward the receiver position than he is in the defensive secondary.



“It’s happening,” Coen said of Hunter’s status of playing both sides of the ball. “Everybody in the building was on board with — how do we get the best out of Travis’ days? … Fast forward to now, where he has taken massive strides, specifically at the receiver position, of truly playing it right.



“How to run each route, how to attack, leverage. His ball skills and body control are extremely natural. You can’t really coach that.”



Jacksonville will host the Pittsburgh Steelers for the opening week of the preseason on Aug. 9. It will serve as the first opportunity to see the incoming rookie during in-game NFL action.

USATSI_26789565 (1)

5GOATs

NFL insider sets expectation for Travis Hunter, how much he'll play offense, defense

team image

Pro News

NFL News

NFL Draft News

NASCAR

NBA News

NBA Draft News

Culture

Sports Betting

About

Football

Basketball

Women's Basketball

Softball

Baseball

Alabama

Arizona State

Arizona

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Boston College

California

Removed

Clemson

Colorado

Duke

Florida

Florida State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

Lettermen Row

Lettermen Lounge

Louisville

Maryland

Miami

Michigan State

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi State

Missouri

NC State

Nebraska

North Carolina

Northwestern

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

The Main Board

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Rutgers

South Carolina

Stanford

Syracuse

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Texas

Texas Tech

UCLA

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

West Virginia

Wisconsin

BamaOnLine

BOL Round Table

Inside Texas

IT Members Only

DawgsHQ

Dawg Walk

Scoop Duck

Recruiting & Sports

AuburnSports

The Corner

WeAreSC

GarryP's Trojan Huddle

The Wolverine

The Fort

The Lions Den

The Wolfpacker

The Wolves’ Den

GatorsOnline

Swamp Talk

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Albany

Alcorn State

Abilene Christian

Appalachian State

Akron

Army

Austin Peay

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas-Little Rock

Arkansas State

Air Force

Ball State

American

Wofford

Winthrop

Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wichita State

Western Carolina

Volleyball

Gymnastics

Men's Lacrosse

Women's Lacrosse

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

Women's Track

Men's Golf

Women's Golf

Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey

Men's Swimming

Women's Swimming

Wrestling

Men's Tennis

Women's Tennis

Annual $1

Annual Premium

Annual $1 

Monthly

Annual

Unlimited Access to This and All Articles.

Article (On3 Plus Rivals)

Forum (On3 Plus Rivals)

Intro

Join

College scoop, experts, and community - all in one.

Winback

Transfers back to SEC

Jaden Rashada

Headed to the ACC

Damon Wilson

Next court date set

Sherrone Moore

Stories that will shape 2026

Looking ahead

Miami trending for QB, WR

Transfer Portal Intel