When the news broke that wide receiver Jalen Coker is expected to miss four to six weeks with a quad injury, it seemed like the Jacksonville Jaguars got an edge against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 of the 2024 season. However, they'll now have to deal with Hunter Renfrow, and that could spell trouble for them.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales said that Renfrow will start while Coker is out. At first sight, this doesn't look like the kind of move that could give Carolina an edge. After all, the former Clemson Tiger sat out the 2024 campaign with an illness and was released on cutdown day. That said, he could have an immediate impact for the Panthers.
How did Hunter Renfrow get here?
The Jaguars must account for Xavier Legette and first-round rookie Tetairoa McMillan, but they cannot afford to overlook Hunter Renfrow, who's a heck of a shifty route-runner.
A fifth-round pick by the Las Vegas Raiders in 2019, Renfrow immediately stood out, hauling in a combined 105 receptions for 1,261 yards with six touchdowns in his first two seasons. He took the next step in 2021, logging over 1,000 receiving yards with nine touchdowns.
Rightly, Renfrow got a massive contract extension from Las Vegas, but he became an afterthought in 2022 when Josh McDaniels became the head coach. By 2023, he had been phased out in favor of Jakobi Meyers.
After missing 2024 with a serious illness, Renfrow signed with the Panthers earlier this year. He says he got offers from different teams but ultimately wanted to suit up for Carolina.
His agent fielded calls from other teams after he was cut, but Hunter Renfrow was only interested in playing for Carolina.
“I was either gonna be here or not play.”#Panthers pic.twitter.com/xjlayWrDLA
— Sheena Quick (@Sheena_Marie3) September 1, 2025
Why the Jaguars have to worry about Hunter Renfrow
It wasn't long ago that four-time Pro Bowl safety Darwin James raised eyebrows during an appearance on The Pivot podcast when he said he had trouble going against Renfrow.
The Pivot host Ryan Clark was stunned because James brought up Hunter in the same conversation as Tyreek Hill. However, the Los Angeles Chargers safety doubled down, pointing out that the tape showed just how good he is.
And that's the thing, Hunter's production doesn't pop up off the statline, but defenders struggle to keep up with him. In case you have doubts, here's a two-minute clip of the veteran receiver running jaw-dropping routes.
Watch 2 minutes of Hunter Renfrow route running https://t.co/V41r57yO98 pic.twitter.com/viPpkwOyou
— Harvester Sports (@HarvesterSports) June 14, 2023
Ok, you could argue that Hunter route those routes during his stint with the Las Vegas Raiders, and that was a while back. Well, here's a clip of him showing he still got it with the Panthers.
Hunter Renfrow’s route running is still next level 🤯
(via @avl_mike)
pic.twitter.com/WDAZgAwo4R
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) July 26, 2025
The good news is that the Jaguars have the firepower to slow down Bryce Young and the Panthers offense. With Jourdan Lewis, Jarrian Jones, Tyson Campbell, and Travis Hunter in the fold, the Jacksonville secondary should be able to hold its own.
The bottom line is that there may be more notable players than Hunter Renfrow on the Panthers roster, but the Jaguars need to treat them all like a threat if they want to come out of the opener with their first win of the season.
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