Travis Hunter's Most Exciting NFL Matchups On Schedule: Ja'Marr Chase, Patrick Surtain II

Perhaps the biggest difference from Hunter's Heisman campaign to his first season in the pros is the pure talent staring him down across the lines every week. He'll carry a major burden for a Jaguars team long vying for a savior, likely to get No. 1-adjacent reps as one of the team's top receivers with Brian Thomas Jr. and defensive backs with Tyson Campbell.

Hunter is starting his offseason training in Jacksonville as a wideout, leading many to believe it will be a three-down position. Jaguars coach Liam Coen expressed interest in using him in the same fashion as he was under coach Deion Sanders with the Buffaloes, so later this summer, he'll be running with the corners.

As the NFL released its full schedule on Wednesday, it became clear when Hunter will face some of the league's top wide receivers and defensive backs.

On offense, Hunter gets a Week 1 test against the dynamic yet oft-injured Jaycee Horn and the Carolina Panthers. Two weeks later, in the first division game of his career, he'll face 2024 first-team All-Pro Derek Stingley Jr. with the Houston Texans.

Trent McDuffie and the Kansas City Chiefs come to town for Hunter's first career primetime NFL contest in Week 5, then the Seattle Seahawks and Devon Witherspoon the next weekend.

The season's final six weeks are when Hunter's most elite competitors will attempt to lock him down. Two-time All-Pro Sauce Gardner and the New York Jets will stand in his way in Week 15. For Hunter's return to Colorado a Sunday later, 2024's Defensive Player of the Year awaits: Patrick Surtain II and the Denver Broncos.

Jacksonville's other AFC South rivals each boast highly touted talents, L'Jarius Sneed (Tennessee Titans) and Charvarius Ward (Indianapolis Colts).

Collectively, Hunter has a chance to square off with four All-Pro honorees (Stingley, McDuffie, Gardner, Surtain) and three separate Pro Bowlers (Horn, Witherspoon, Ward) during his rookie year, a far cry from the college corners he left in the dust at Jackson State and Colorado.

At corner, Hunter will have his work cut out for him early and often. A familiar face in Tetairoa McMillan (Panthers) opens the season, then one of the NFL's best receivers in Ja'Marr Chase and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2.

Nico Collins (Texans), Brandon Aiyuk (San Francisco 49ers), Rashee Rice (Chiefs), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seattle Seahawks) and Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) all follow in succession as elite potential tests for Hunter to pass. If Hunter plans on staking his claim as a cornerstone of Jacksonville's secondary, this stretch will be critical for him to at least hold his ground.

Of course, there's a fair chance Hunter does not face his opponents' top corners or receivers from the jump. Teams will be forced to pick their poison between Hunter and one of the NFL's best rookie wideouts last season in Thomas Jr., and the Jags may ease the Heisman into their defensive scheme opposite Campbell.

However, a scheme or alignment doesn't mean Hunter wouldn't back down from the challenge. He's described cornerback as the "easier" position to adjust to at the NFL level and will be entrusted with a lion's share of duties for a franchise in search of difference-makers on both ends.

When asked who comes down with the ball if Hunter, the pass-catcher, took on Hunter, the cornerback, at his opening Jaguars press conference, the Biletnikoff and Bednarik Award winner kept it short and sweet, illustrating his mentality as the page turns to year one of his fascinating career:

"Travis Hunter."