The Jaguars' Travis Hunter Effect Already Setting In

Back in the 1980s, Erno Rubik's toy puzzle cube became a phenomenon that mesmerized both children and adults all over. But then came the copycats with a slightly different twist on the Rubik's Cube. There was the Snake, the Pyramid and the Missing Link.

None of the also-rans matched the fervor of Erno's invention, but there's never been such a thing called an empty bandwagon. In 2025, the Athlete position also known as WR/CB in the NFL is an absolute fascination, and the original that has emerged this season in Jacksonville won't be the only one to market for long.

Everybody who follows the National Football League knows about Travis Hunter. The Heisman Trophy winner played under a head coach who dabbled with the concept of playing both ways at both wide receiver and defensive back in the 1990s.

There were others, but Deion Sanders did it most famously. Although Sanders was thrown passes as a member of the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens, the man now known as "Coach Prime" only had 60 receptions for 787 yards. So, he didn't quite make an impact how Hunter is expected to. Neither did Troy Brown of the Patriots who was forced to jump over to corner in 2004 due to injuries, nabbing three interceptions.

General Manager James Gladstone mentioned recently on a Sirius XM interview with Andrew Siciliano and Max Starks that Hunter is a wide receiver first and a cornerback second, but he does expect his rookie to get over 100 snaps a game. Translation, Hunter is expected to be a major contributor on bath sides of the ball. Soon, this practice is going to spread through the league like a wildfire out of control. And it's already beginning to spark.

In Green Bay, fourth-year man Bo Melton is seeing snaps on offense and defense. Now, Melton is not the weapon that Hunter is, but the Rutgers product runs like greased lightning and has experience on special teams.

As a receiver, Melton only has 309 receiving yards on 24 catches and one touchdown. On the Packers depth chart, he only ranks seventh or eighth. This could be a great opportunity for Melton to unearth new talents and stick in Green Bay, and for the Packers to kill two birds with one stone and have an extra candidate at two positions.

The Travis Hunter Effect is in full gear. If it ends up having the same success as the Rubik's Cube, then look for more versions of the Jacksonville Jaguars WR/CB coming to a NFL stadium near you.

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