Jacksonville Jaguars have been handed perfect solution as playoff defeat paves way for Travis Hunter conundrum

The experiment was bold and historic, but now it needs to come to an end.

Following Jacksonville’s 27‑24 Wild Card loss to Buffalo, one thing is clear: Travis Hunter’s future belongs on the defensive side of the ball.

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The Jaguars don’t need any more help at wide receiver, but they could use all the help they can get in the defensive backfield — and that’s where Hunter’s focus should be.

When the Jags used two first‑round picks to trade up and select Hunter second overall, the hope was that he could be the league’s latest two‑way phenom.

But the reality of the NFL grind exposed a problem with that experiment. Hunter played 66.7% of his snaps on offense and just 36% on defense through seven games before his season ended early due to injury.

It was a usage split that ultimately diminished his impact where Jacksonville needed him most.

The numbers from Hunter’s truncated rookie season tell a story of a team trying to have its cake and eat it too. The result? A “Jack of all trades, master of none” scenario where a potential All-Pro cornerback was being used as a high-volume, low-efficiency wideout.

Sure, Hunter showed flashes on offense, but his contributions didn’t move the needle consistently enough to justify keeping him entrenched in a crowded receiver room.

Meanwhile, Jacksonville’s defensive backfield displayed glaring weaknesses, especially after the Greg Newsome II experiment fell flat.

The Jaguars now enter the offseason with a glaring secondary need and a proven elite athlete capable of excelling at cornerback.

The NFL is littered with elite athletes who can play receiver, but it is almost entirely devoid of human beings who can erase an opponent’s WR1.

Making Hunter a full‑time starter in the secondary would allow Jacksonville to build its defense around a legitimate playmaker.

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A consistent role at cornerback would give him the reps, situational experience and defensive instincts to become a true shutdown presence that is something the Jaguars desperately lacked in 2025.

And it ended up costing them.

That doesn’t mean Hunter can’t take any offensive snaps next season. There’s still room for creativity.

He can be used strategically on offense as a decoy or in specific packages to keep defenses honest. But the team’s long‑term outlook is brighter if his primary identity is as one of the league’s premier corners, not a two‑way novelty.

With the receiver room now settled and emerging talent like Parker Washington stepping up, Jacksonville should finally give Hunter and the defense the clarity and focus they’ve been missing.

GM James Gladston and head coach Liam Coen experimented and toyed with Hunter on both sides of the ball; that experiment should be over.

Hunter’s ceiling is far higher at cornerback; let him reach it and shatter it.

It’s time to put the #12 jersey on the boundary, let him shadow the opponent’s best player, and let the “two-way” talk become a footnote in what should be an All-Pro defensive career.

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