On draft night, first-year Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Jim Gladstone wanted to make a splash. He was looking to make a deal to bring the most electrifying player in the 2025 NFL Draft to Duval County.
He did it. He pulled it off. He convinced the Cleveland Browns to trade the second pick of the draft to Jacksonville so they could draft Colorado two-way player Travis Hunter.
CBS Sports recently published an article on why every one of the 32 teams should be optimistic heading into the 2025 NFL season. With training camps opening this week, the Jaguars do not have to look far for their reason for optimism.
Just look for the guy wearing jersey No. 12 with "Hunter" embroidered on the back. According to Tyler Sullivan, who compiled the article, Hunter is the main basis for optimism in Jacksonville.
"Travis Hunter will be one of the more fascinating prospects to track throughout his rookie season. The Jaguars pulled off a blockbuster trade on Draft Day to move up to the No. 2 overall pick to bring Hunter to Jacksonville," Sullivan said. "Now, it's going to be must-see TV on how the Jags use him. At Colorado, Hunter was a star wide receiver and cornerback, and it looks like Jacksonville will give him a shot to play both ways at the NFL level.
"The Heisman Trophy winner addresses key needs for the Jaguars at both receiver and corner, but maybe the most exciting angle will be Hunter lining up opposite of Brian Thomas Jr. within Liam Coen's offense."
An argument can be made that Hunter should only be a wide receiver. Putting Hunter on the field as a wide receiver will automatically draw double coverage. If he gets double-teamed and Thomas gets double-teamed, the tight end to be named later could be wide open on a seam route. The mere presence of Hunter is going to make teams think twice about what they are going to do on defense. It is going to be difficult to stop both Hunter and Thomas on the same play.
This does not discount the appearance of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, but his game got a lot better looking with the addition of Hunter.
Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!