Will Travis Hunter play both ways? Jaguars’ first depth chart offers glimpse into team’s approach

The Jacksonville Jaguars were aggressive moving up to the No. 2 overall pick in this past April’s NFL Draft to select Heisman Trophy-winning two-way star Travis Hunter. The Jaguars traded their 2026 first-round pick to the Browns as part of the package, and their reasoning was they felt like they were getting an elite player on both sides of the ball with just one pick. 

Hunter has gotten reps at both wide receiver and cornerback during training camp, and on Monday we got our first indication of what his role will be on both sides of the ball as the Jaguars released their first unofficial depth chart. On it, Hunter is listed as a starter at wide receiver — along with Brian Thomas Jr. and Dyami Brown — and as a backup cornerback with an OR designation for second or third string alongside Jarrian Jones. 

We’ll see how that changes over the next month before the Jaguars open the regular season against the Panthers on Sept. 7, but for now fans can expect to see a lot of Hunter on offense and him playing a more sparing role on defense to begin his NFL career. That’s not a shock given the Jaguars’ team needs, as Trevor Lawrence could use another dynamic offensive playmaker to throw to opposite Thomas Jr. 

Jaguars coach Liam Coen discussed Hunter on the Rich Eisen Show on Monday, saying Hunter playing both ways is “absolutely happening” while explaining why he’s spent more time with the offense in camp than the defense to this point. 

“Ultimately, for him, it’s going to come down to, offensively and defensively, we’ve done more offense because that’s where more of the development was necessary,” Coen said. “So much more naturally to just go walk out on the field and play corner. Like, that’s what he’s done, he can go do that very similarly. … Offensively we felt there was a lot more development necessary, and it’s a lot more ball. Just a lot more scheme and words and calls. …

“He has taken massive strides, specifically at the receiver position of truly playing it. How to run each route. How to attack leverage. His ball skills and body control are extremely natural. You can’t really coach that. What he’s been able to learn in getting aligned, assignments, technique and fundamentals.” 

While he’s listed as a starter at receiver and a reserve at corner, he still should play plenty of snaps on defense. Coen was wary of putting hard numbers on a snap count for Hunter on offense and defense, but indicated he will be heavily featured on offense and they’ll try to come close to matching that on defense. 

“I think it’s a hard number to probably come up with,” Coen said. “If you’re saying your playing 65-75 snaps on offense let’s call it, and if he’s playing 80% of those snaps or so. And then defensively, you look at trying to match that number as best as possible. … We wanna play him as much as we can, though. That’s the reality.” 

If Hunter plays close to 80% of the snaps both ways, he’ll be looking at 100-plus snaps per game. That’d be unheard of at the NFL level, but that was also the case in college football and he was elite on both sides of the ball at Colorado playing an even higher snap count. Based on this initial depth chart, he might see fewer defensive snaps early, but he is unquestionably part of their plan on that side of the ball. The Jaguars aren’t shying away from his unique talents and that’ll make for a very fun subplot to the 2025 season. 

Hunter is in the top four in odds for both Offensive Rookie of the Year (10-1) and Defensive Rookie of the Year (8-1) at DraftKings.

And when asked about whether Hunter really could win both awards, Coen said matter of factly that “it’s definitely possible.”