Why Jaguars need Travis Hunter (the cornerback), plus stats to watch & Washington's encore

New York Times

6 days ago

Inside: Updated power rankings, how Washington's managing new expectations, and why Travis Hunter could — and should — see plenty of snaps at cornerback. We'll start with the latter.
This article is from Scoop City, The Athletic's NFL newsletter. Sign up here to receive it directly in your inbox.
There's a reality where the same player wins the offensive and defensive rookie of the year awards. We might be in it.
As of Thursday morning, Travis Hunter was third in BetMGM's odds for the award on offense and second for the defensive version. That's one of those first-in-a-lifetime lines to type.
Jacksonville was the perfect landing spot for a dual threat. He has their offense poised to breakout, but may be more valuable in the league's worst secondary. The Jaguars …
The secondary should be improved with the additions of Hunter, former Cowboys standout nickel CB Jourdan Lewis (79.0 PFF coverage grade, 15th of 222 corners) and third-round pick Caleb Ransaw. And if talented but oft-injured CB Tyson Campbell bounces back and CB Jarrian Jones can build on a promising rookie season, this could become a position of strength for the Jaguars quickly. It'll help if Hunter continues making plays like this:
Everything has gone well so far in Jacksonville, as Hunter signed his rookie contract at a CBA-mandated bargain of $11.6 million APY without missing any practice time.
The biggest competition for Hunter the cornerback might be his receiving snaps; he began OTAs and minicamp as a wide receiver before splitting his days between each position.
Advertisement
The offense-first trend continued in training camp, with The Athletic's Jeff Howe reporting that Hunter joined the receivers for every offensive period but mixed in with defensive coaches during any special teams periods.
But Jeff notes that this might not foreshadow Hunter's in-season workload, since Hunter has more experience on defense and thus the extra offensive coaching is more about growth than future opportunity.
It's a sentiment shared by HC Liam Coen: 'That's why we're (starting with) more offense, not necessarily to say that he's going to play more offense this fall,' Coen said. 'It's because that's where he needs the most development right now. There's so much more fundamentals, technique, detail, timing, being at the right spot at the right time, a lot more verbiage.'
Jeff's full story on the Jaguars' plans is worth your time. We'll monitor that throughout camp, as well as less glamorous battles in Cleveland (QB), New England (RB) and Indianapolis (QB). There's plenty to improve there, too:
Browns: 14.2 points per game (ranked 32nd). Constantly trailing their opponents (Browns ranked 31st in time leading) forced Cleveland to pass at a league-high 68.6 percent rate, which isn't ideal for a team with a quarterback battle that is now between Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett.
Patriots: 49.6 rushes per fumble (32nd). New England lost control of the ball at 10 times the rate of their division-rival Bills, which led to 12 total fumbles (ranking 28th). It's one reason TreVeyon Henderson was their surprise pick in round two, despite having Rhamondre Stevenson under contract. A split role is likely, as Chad Graff details on what to expect from Henderson.
Colts: 56.3 percent completion rate (32nd). The 2024 Colts' quarterbacks, Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco, posted the league's worst completion rate. It's the rare situation where Daniel Jones — who has a career completion percentage of 64.1 — will be a welcome change for the Colts' talented pass-catchers. Of course, that's assuming he wins their ongoing training camp competition, as Richardson is back throwing the football.
If the Eagles are the NFL's best, who is No. 2?
Lamar Jackson's Ravens finally passed Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs for that slot in The Athletic's latest Power Rankings. The 49ers (+7) and Jaguars (+5) rose more than any other team, while losing star LT Tristan Wirfs knocked the Buccaneers (-4) down.
Here's the full list:
Toughest team to rank? The Commanders, explained author Josh Kendall, who had them at No. 6. I shot him a message to ask why. It comes down to math:
💬 'Only 10 teams in the last 25 years have converted more fourth down attempts than Washington did a year ago (20) and none of those teams came close to the Commanders' 87 percent success rate. Changing that math alone could mean the difference in two to three wins.
'Then throw in a schedule that's one of the league's 10 hardest, a defense that wasn't good last year and the mystery box that is second-year quarterbacks and Washington may not finish anywhere close to the sixth I have them.'
More on the Commanders, now:
Expectations were low before the 2024 season. Washington's last playoff victory had come in 2005, and their previous five seasons ended like this:
A new regime and rookie quarterback offered hope, but surely needed time. Or so we thought. The Commanders finished 12-5, nearly doubling their preseason expected win total of 6.5 and falling one game shy of a Super Bowl appearance. They won more games than any Washington team since Joe Gibbs coached the Super Bowl winners in 1991. How do you follow that?
Advertisement
These 2025 Commanders are expected to win, but their goals aren't tied to results. Instead, the offseason focus is on maintaining the 'Commander Standard,' while remaining a step ahead of opposing teams, all of whom had the offseason to study Kliff Kingsbury's offense.
To help, Washington shipped a plethora of draft picks for veteran additions WR Deebo Samuel and OT Laremy Tunsil, then signed edge Von Miller, who is now 36. They're joined by early-round picks OT Josh Conerly Jr. and CB Trey Amos, who are expected to contribute early. They just need to resolve WR Terry McLaurin's contract situation.
The other question in Washington is about their name. I felt like their 2024 success legitimized the name 'Commanders,' but that sentiment is not shared by all. I asked David Aldridge, The Athletic's senior columnist and Washington local, about whether my feelings align with those in D.C. :
💬 'There will always be a segment of the Washington fan base that will never accept the name 'Commanders,' because it was adapted while Dan Snyder owned the team. The antipathy toward the former regime will take more than a year or two to ebb.
'Among that segment, as well, are fans who will simply never accept any name other than 'Redskins,' no matter what evidence they receive that many Native and non-Native American fans of the team believe that nickname to be a racial slur.
'But, to answer your question: a lot of Washington fans have accepted the name 'Commanders,' and accepted it a lot faster after the team won the most games in 30 years last season, with Jayden Daniels as its franchise-level quarterback.'
📓 Are you ready? Inspiring head coaches and uninspiring quarterback competitions are two of the biggest training camp storylines to follow.
✅ Attendance is mandatory. Many players are absent from training camp as their contract demands remain unmet; the list is shorter than I expected, but still includes two Bengals pass rushers, a Browns running back and Lions LB Alex Anzalone.
👀 Eyes on Shedeur Sanders. A strong offseason could have the fifth-round pick starting for the Browns before long. He's one of 32 players in The Athletic's list of players to watch during training camp.
💼 Rashee Rice's suspension feels inevitable after he pled guilty to felony charges associated with his role in a multi-vehicle car crash last offseason. For now, he's a full participant at Chiefs camp.
▶️ Monday's most-clicked: Clemson's Cade Klubnik is No. 1 in The Athletic's ranking of all 136 projected starting college football quarterbacks.
📫 Enjoyed this read? Sign up here to receive The Athletic's free NFL newsletter in your inbox.
Also, check out our other newsletters.