Jacksonville Needs to Use Travis Hunter on Defense More

Hunter entered the NFL as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after an extraordinary collegiate career at Colorado, a true two‑way phenom, wreaking havoc as both a wide receiver and cornerback. He won the Heisman Trophy, captured the Chuck Bednarik Award (defense) and the Fred Biletnikoff Award (offense) in the same season. That kind of résumé demands a team‑building vision that embraces his full spectrum of skills, not a one‑sided usage plan.

McCoy’s frustration is entirely justified. He’s pointing at the obvious: you spent big, you traded up, you committed to a player who insisted he wanted to shine on both sides of the ball, yet the Jaguars appear to be putting a guardrail on half of his game. Reports indicate that although Hunter practiced both ways during minicamp, the organization still veered toward using him primarily on offense.

Let’s be clear about why this isn’t just a minor gripe. Hunter’s defensive skill set is a difference‑maker: speed, ball‑hawking instincts, tackling fluidity, and elite change‑of‑direction. These are traits you build a secondary around in a league where turnovers and pass‑game disruptions decide rivalries and playoff spots. Yet the Jaguars, a team still searching for defensive identity, are keeping his greatest asset on the sidelines for the defensive snaps that matter. In effect, they’re using the ace in their hand to cover someone else’s weakness. McCoy’s words, “maybe you should use it on the side you’re getting killed on,” expose the disconnect.

Now, in all honesty, this doesn’t mean the Jaguars should abandon his offensive usage. He’s a receiving threat, and yes, the offense should ride a talent like Hunter. But they ought to see him as a chess piece, not just a utility piece. Especially on the defensive side: in the AFC South, where every yard gained matters and generational athletes are rare, you don’t slot your unicorn into training mode. You unleash it where the pain is. McCoy’s critique hits because it’s obvious, yet still gets ignored.

For Jacksonville’s broader trajectory this season, the path forward is simple: make a decision. If you believe in Hunter’s two‑way capability, as the scouting community, his college tape and the rookie himself indicated, then honor it. Let him play meaningful defense. Let it shape your roster, your draft decisions, your free‑agency direction. Don’t treat him like a one‑way fork in a road when the rest of the map demands a multi‑lane highway.