Normally, when NFL teams begin a rebuild, they temper expectations. Not the Jacksonville Jaguars. Coming off a 4-13 season, they've taken an aggressive approach to raise the roster ceiling. Among the moves they've made the past few months, the bold trade for Travis Hunter in the draft is the one that stands out the most. Executive vice president of football operations Tony Boselli recently explained what pushed the Jags to pull the trigger.
Boselli had an exchange with Brian Baldinger and Mike Garofolo of NFL Media and said that Hunter has been everything the team envisioned and then some, pointing out that he loves his intangibles as much as his on-field talent.
"Well, first of all, Bal, you know this as well as I do, we're not playing real football yet. We're just out on the grass kind of going through and doing individuals, a lot of install, a lot education," Boselli responded when asked whether Hunter has exceeded expectations. "With that said, I'll say this: Travis Hunter, and I had high expectations, obviously, we traded up and in game next year's first round and second rounder this year to go get them. We felt like he was the best guy to be a Jaguar, and so we had high expectations. He's exceeded my expectations."
Boselli continued, "You see the athlete on the field, you see how he moves, the change in direction, the body control, but it's the person that I'm most enamored with, just the natural leadership, the energy he brings, the excitement, the smile, and he's a tireless worker. This is a guy that wants to be the best. And just, you watch his demeanor and how he approaches even just the phase two workouts on the field, how you approached the rookie mini camp. This is a guy who's hungry to be the best."
Later in his exchange with Baldinger and Garafolo, Boselli said that once the Jaguars identified Hunter as their guy, the team's brass figured out a way to land him.
"But it was, the process was, I mean, we went through the evaluation process. You looked at the draft, kind of what we were looking for as we kind of reset and rebuild this organization, we felt like we have a lot of good players on the team, but also there's some areas that we wanted to address and and when you have the number five pick overall, you're trying to get trying to get better, trying to get the best player, impact player," Boselli said.
"And it was clear in our minds that Travis Hunter is the guy we wanted. And it was James Gladstone. He led us. It was a strategy he deployed. He came to Liam and I, right after the owners meetings, and laid out a scenario and some thoughts about us getting up to No. 2. And after discussions between the three of us, we were all on the same page, aligned, and then James went and executed. And once we got the terms agreed to with Cleveland, we sat down with ownership, went through that, and we were off to the races."
Early this year, Jacksonville was linked to defensive tackle Mason Graham, but running back Ashton Jenty became the favorite to get the nod in April. Just a couple days before the draft, though, rumors surfaced that the Jags were planning to make a bold move, and chatter about Hunter being their guy became rampant.
Draft Day came, and the Jaguars agreed to a deal with the Cleveland Browns to acquire the second overall selection, which they used to select Hunter.
Travis Hunter can propel the Jaguars to the playoffs in 2025
As Tony Boselli pointed out, the Jacksonville Jaguars already had several talented players, but not nearly enough to win on a consistent basis. That's why nobody should be surprised that they willingly gave up a couple of early-round picks to move up for him. It's a price they'll be glad they paid if he turns out to be the missing piece of the puzzle.
Already, Jacksonville had Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas on offense. Josh Allen and Travon Walker gave the defense a pair of playmakers. Hunter's arrival will elevate both sides of the ball. Of course, the Jags also revamped the coaching staff to ensure they can get the most out of their roster.
With head coach Liam Coen, the Jags could experience a turnaround like the one the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense enjoyed last year. In fact, don't be surprised if they win the AFC South and sneak into the playoffs in 2025.
If the Jaguars ultimately exceed expectations, it won't be only because of Travis Hunter, but he will have surely played a huge role.
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