Jaguars’ plan for Travis Hunter next season becomes clearer

You might not be seeing Travis Hunter catch passes much next season.

The Jaguars’ two-way star will be more of a one-way star.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that Hunter would be primarily playing cornerback in 2026 and occasionally taking offensive snaps, a complete 180 from his usage in his rookie year.

“When he comes back, they expect him to be a full-time corner and part-time receiver,” Rapoport said. “We talked to teams last year, that probably was where they thought the value was. So maybe this coming year, we’re gonna get to see the player that [the Jaguars] drafted.”’

Hunter took 324 snaps on offense and 162 on defense last season. He caught 28 of his 45 targets for 298 yards and one touchdown before missing the rest of the season with an LCL tear he suffered during a practice before Week 9.

Defensively, he had three pass deflections and 15 total tackles. His shortened rookie year came after Hunter won the Heisman Trophy at Colorado and was drafted No. 2 overall after the Jaguars traded up.

Rapoport added that Hunter is expected to be a full participant in training camp despite coming off the injury.

Travis Hunter will be primarily playing corner next season, though he’ll still play both ways. Getty Images

“It does seem like Travis Hunter is doing exceptionally well from that LCL tear,” Rapoport said. “He has been running, he’s not gonna be a full participant in OTAs, but they really believe he will be full by training camp.”

His switch to primarily playing corner will help Jacksonville defensively, as it ranked 21st in the league last year in passing defense. Offensively, the Jaguars also retained Brian Thomas Jr. — who’s looking to rebound from a down year — and extended Jakobi Meyers in December.

They did lose running back Travis Etienne to New Orleans, but Trevor Lawrence will be under center once again.

Jacksonville won the AFC South but fell in the wild-card round of the playoffs in a tight contest with the Bills.

Under second-year head coach Liam Coen, the Jaguars will look to continue trending up — something that Hunter’s switch to defense could help maintain.