NFL insider asks his big question for Travis Hunter and Jaguars during training camp

USA Today

14-07-2025

One NFL insider recently posed his big question for Travis Hunter and the Jaguars as training camp unfolds.
Sports Illustrated's NFL insider Albert Breer recently dove into '10 Things we'll talk about' when NFL training camps begin, and among those topics was what Travis Hunter's playing time will look like with the Jacksonville Jaguars between the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
"As rules have tightened on the on-field work players can do with coaches, through the past two CBA negotiations, the time everyone spends out there has been at more and more of a premium," wrote Breer. "Especially for young guys learning the NFL."
Since arriving in Jacksonville post-NFL draft, Hunter has been learning the playbooks and terminology for both the offensive and defensive units, but on the field, more time has been spent with the offense up to this point.
This doesn't come as a surprise either, with GM James Gladstone and Liam Coen saying since Day 1 that this was the plan. Recently, Gladstone expounded on that by saying the team views cornerback as Hunter's more natural position, so they wanted to prioritize wideout early on.
I'll also add that in an offensive scheme under Coen that features a robust playbook, added snaps and time on offense may have been a part of that decision-making process as well.
While there is no one way to get Hunter acclimated to playing both ways at the NFL level, Breer also noted how different the Jaguars' approach is compared to what Colorado did to get him ready on a weekly basis.
"What's really interesting is how different it is from Hunter's setup at Colorado, and how just about every team I talked to predraft would've drawn it up for him," wrote Breer. "Over two years in Boulder, the overwhelming majority of Hunter's meeting and practice time was spent on defense.
"That's because it's much easier to have things built in for a player without fully integrating him on offense than it is on defense—the offensive coaches would put in packages for Hunter and fill in the blanks by signaling in routes to him from the sideline."
During offseason programs, Hunter--for the most part--either practiced on only offense or only defense on a given day. The next step for him, which we will see during training camp, is playing both offense and defense during the same practices since that is how he and the Jaguars will have to operate in-season.