The Jacksonville Jaguars traded up in the 2025 NFL Draft to select two-way star Travis Hunter because they believed he's a sport-altering talent. However, they've yet to see a meaningful return on their investment four weeks into the regular season.
Hunter has hauled in 13 receptions for 118 yards with no touchdowns on offense and has logged 101 defensive snaps (39 percent of the team's totals on that side of the ball). That's certainly not the kind of production from a first-round pick, let alone one that was second overall. To make matters worse, the West Palm Beach, Florida native spent most of the second half of the win over the 49ers on the sidelines.
Rightly, he and the Jags have been the subject of criticism for his lack of impact early in his NFL career. Then again, it's possible that the chatter that he's been a non-factor has been overblown.
It's true that Travis Hunter hasn't been a game-changer for the Jaguars
Nobody will deny that Travis Hunter is off to a slow start to his NFL career, especially when you take into account that fellow rookies Armand Membou, Will Campbell, and Tetairoa McMillan are already making an impact.
Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, in particular, argues that the Jags' decision to draft Hunter doesn't look great early on, noting that he isn't an impact player on either side of the ball. Here's the skinny.
"When the Jaguars traded up from the fifth pick to the second pick in the 2025 NFL draft, giving up their 2026 first-round in the process, they were expecting Travis Hunter to be an impact player on both sides of the ball," David Smith wrote. "Early in his rookie year, he's not an impact player on either side of the ball."
Keep in mind that David Smith isn't the only prominent voice that has questioned the Jags' plan for Hunter. Just recently, former head coach Rex Ryan urged them to stick the reigning Heisman Trophy winner solely at corner.
The Jaguars aren't worried about Travis Hunter
Michael David Smith isn't necessarily wrong. Hunter hasn't made a big impact to start 2025, but context is necessary. For starters, his learning curve is steeper than that of virtually every rookie, as he's not only making the leap to the NFL, but he's doing it while learning two positions.
On top of that, the Jags rush him onto the field and give him playing time to justify the trade-up for him. The team's brass is aware that he needs time before he can hit his stride and has put together a plan to develop him. It wouldn't make sense to deviate from the process just because his numbers don't pop off the stat sheet a quarter in the NFL season.
Moreover, Hunter is already starting to show flashes. Against the 49ers, he had a key 28-yard reception on third-and-13 in the Jags' own red zone, arguably the biggest play of his young career and one that kept a crucial drive alive.
What a catch by Travis Hunter for 28 yards!
JAXvsSF on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/5uLmQhBQlr
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
It's also worth noting that the Jaguars built a well-rounded team that wasn't dependent on Travis Hunter. With plenty of talent at receiver and corner, they don't have to rush him into the football field.
So yes, from an investment point of view, the Jaguars are yet to get a return, but that's by design. Maybe if Travis Hunter is still unremarkable by Year 2, they should start considering pulling the plug on the experiment and having exclusively line up at receiver or corner.
For the time being, though, the Jaguars seem to be pleased with Hunter's progress and are sticking to the process.