Travis Hunter has not been the player Jacksonville expected

Sep 13, 2026; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) during player introductions before the game against the Cleveland Browns at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesWhen the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Travis Hunter with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the team expected that he would contribute on offense and defense and could even be a full-time player on both sides of the ball. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case.

>Hunter was a do-it-all player at the college level, playing offense, defense, and special teams for the Colorado Buffaloes, earning the Heisman Trophy as a result of his versatility. However, it has not translated to the NFL level, where Hunter is now playing fewer snaps than most starters.

Travis Hunter’s Diminished RoleWhile the Jaguars initially attempted to get Hunter on the field as much as possible during his rookie season, his role with the team has waned during his second season.

>As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk points out, Hunter is “not even close” to being a full-time player on both sides of the ball, and that was evident in the team’s loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

>“Hunter played 37 snaps (60 percent of the Jaguars’ plays) on defense, six snaps (10 percent) on offense and one play on special teams. Although the Jaguars have talked up the possibility of Hunter being a full-time player on both sides of the ball, he’s not even close to that. In fact, 17 different players on the Jaguars were on the field for more plays than Hunter’s total of 44 snaps,” Smith wrote for Pro Football Talk.

>“On defense, Hunter’s highlights included four tackles, a pass breakup, and a 22-yard pass interference penalty. That penalty, and Jaguars coach Liam Coen’s penalty for arguing the call, set up a Broncos touchdown. On offense, Hunter never had the ball go his way,” he added.

‘I just follow their plan’While it might not be what he expected when he entered the league, it sounds like Hunter has accepted his diminished role.

>“That’s the plan. Coaches tell me what I’ve got to do, I just follow their plan, follow their lead,” Hunter said of his role with the team. “My job is to go out there and play, no matter when they put me out there. That’s what I’ve got to do.”

>It might not be what he or the team expected for his career, but he’s just trying to contribute where he can.

‘Travis Hunter is a Bust’Needless to say, the whole conversation has led to a lot of reactions on social media.

>“Say it with me. Travis Hunter is a bust. He’s a good kid. Deion sold him as a 2-way player and making history…. instead of selling him as ‘go be a shutdown corner’ and maybe play a handful of offensive snaps,” wrote Jason Whitlock in a post on X.

>“I really don’t know why Travis Hunter is not playing the entire time on defense,” said Austen Lane of the Brent and Austen Show.

>“You can’t draft a No. 2 overall and play him in a rotation. You can’t do it. You wouldn’t do it at any other position,” said Brent Martineau on the Brent and Austen Show.

>“Hunter averaged 69.4 total snaps per game in 2025. He’s at 38.0 per game through two weeks of his sophomore season,” noted Mark Dankenbring of Stopping The Run.

>“This whole Travis Hunter thing. He played 60% of the snaps on defense, 10% of the snaps on offense. He’s not even playing 100% of the load. They just need to make him a corner or a receiver and be done with it. Let him go all in,” Mike Florio said on PFT Live. “‘They’re getting two players in one.’ You’re not even getting one player in two. They’re just handling this the wrong way and the sooner they wake up to it the better off they’re going to be.

>“I’d rather have great at one than ‘oh yeah, he’s pretty good at both,'” added Chris Simms of PFT Live. “They don’t need him on offense.”

>We’ll have to see what the future holds for Hunter.

>The post Travis Hunter has not been the player Jacksonville expected appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.