Jacksonville Jaguars’ rookie Travis Hunter may be the most tantalizing player taken in last month’s draft.
With the ability to play both sides of the ball, the former Heisman Trophy winner is truly a unicorn in the modern NFL landscape.
That being said, ESPN’s Mike Clay took a stab at what Hunter may provide the Jaguars on both sides of the ball in his yearly predictions for each NFL squad.
For Hunter, Clay thinks the rook will haul in 73 balls on 110 targets for a grand total of 884 yards. That production is also coupled with five receiving touchdowns and 25 total rushing yards for good measure.
On defense, Clay thinks Hunter will play around 322 snaps, good for fourth on the team. Those snaps could equate to numbers somewhere in the 25 tackle and 0.6 interception range.
Obviously Hunter’s projections are far flashier on the offensive side as head coach Liam Coen said from day one that Hunter will be getting the majority of his burn on that side of that ball to start with.
Q: What is your vision for Travis Hunter? Do you see him playing more on offense?
Liam Coen: "We’ll have a plan right now of [him playing] primarily on offense, with him learning the defensive system and practicing on the defensive side of the ball as well throughout this… pic.twitter.com/juYRrsGXLc
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) April 25, 2025
Overall, Hunter doesn’t project to have the sort of breakout year that Brian Thomas Jr. had in his rookie season last year in Clay’s eyes. For what it’s worth, Clay projects Thomas Jr. to have a similar year to his rookie season with 85 catches for 1,177 yards and six receiving scores. Parker Washington is the clear WR3 with a projected 457 yards receiving.
Clay isn’t terribly optimistic for the Jags to win a ton of games in the upcoming year, projecting the team to win seven games, with only four games total having a win percentage over 50%.
Obviously there is no telling what the Jags could do this year, or what Hunter is even capable of. There are almost innumerable amounts of moving pieces when it comes to what Hunter can do on either side of the ball.
One thing is for certain, though: Hunter is going to go 100% every chance he can. And that might even include some passing yards that not even Clay could predict.