Feb. 7, 2026, 9:20 a.m. ET

What’s next for Travis Hunter as he enters his second NFL season with the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Unfortunately, Hunter’s rookie season ended early due to a knee injury he sustained in practice prior to the Jaguars’ Week 9 matchup with Las Vegas.

Before then, it looked like he was poised to begin breaking out on the offensive side of the ball. In Hunter’s final game, he eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark against the LA Rams.

His absence, however, forced the Jaguars to adjust, as Liam Coen described recently while appearing on the Pat McAfee Show.

“I do think the best thing that could have happened was like, all right, not that he got hurt, but we got hurt, and we still, we were able to have success,” Coen said. “So now we get the privilege of going — throughout this, he’s still rehabbing, going through a whole process of rehab, getting back, but now we can go say, ‘Okay, where is this going to truly help us go take the next step?’ Like, what’s going to actually help us get over the hump, from time allotment for him, practice schedule, playing on Sundays?”

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Coen continued, “What’s the best for our team and for the Jacksonville Jaguars to go win on Sunday and that’s what it allows us to do, is because we do have some other pieces. We have some guys that can go make plays on Sundays, and that’s what it’s all about. So we need the help, for sure. I mean, in terms of the playmaking, the corner position, we’ll use him. He’s gonna get used. It’s just a matter of, what is that dynamic?”

As GM James Gladstone said during his end-of-season press conference, the Jaguars still intend to have Hunter playing both ways this season.

Coen echoed those sentiments.

“I think he’s absolutely going to be able to,” Coen said of Hunter playing both ways. “I do. I mean, the guy has the craziest conditioning of any athlete I’ve ever been around. He doesn’t get tired. He doesn’t sweat. It’s kind of crazy.”

“But he’s obviously been in altitude, you know? But he works his tail off. He loves football. Football, fishing. I mean, that’s what he does. So as he continues to grow, and this was a minor setback, for sure, right? But for a major comeback. That’s what it has to be. That’s his mindset.”

However, while last year Hunter was trending towards a more offensive-heavy role, this year, at lest to start, he could see more opportunities on defense, given the construction of the roster.

At wideout, the Jaguars still have Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers, and Parker Washington. But at cornerback, Greg Newsome and Montaric Brown are both set to be free agents.

The team will still continue to work through what Hunter’s workload from an offensive and defensive standpoint looks like.

“I think we were getting there,” Coen said of Hunter’s practice time. “I think we were getting there. And then he has 100 yards against the Rams, gets hurt, forced us to go, kind of make some other decisions, and it was a blessing at the end of the day for the way it played out in some ways, but we’ll look through that.”

Whether he’s playing cornerback or wide receiver, Hunter’s a natural and his playmaking abilities are evident. The Jaguars are invested in maximizing that potential.

“I do think that if you just said, alright man, go play football without much coaching,” Coen said. “I mean, corner, he just looks the part, exactly what he is. And then, but also when you get the ball in his hands, I mean, he can make people miss, which I can’t coach. So it’s still a fine line. It’s still something we’re working through.”