The Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to draft Travis Hunter. While the rookie is a generational talent because of his ability to play both sides of the ball, that fact is not exactly a good thing for fantasy football. Will Hunter play enough wide receiver to justify his cost in fantasy drafts?
Travis Hunter Fantasy Outlook
Rookie wide receivers are already difficult to evaluate for fantasy. Hunter presents a whole new set of challenges, the likes of which we’ve never seen before.
Hunter is a talented player. On a good offense with a good quarterback as the clear WR1, there’s a case to be made that he has 16 fantasy points per game upside.
Typically, when a wide receiver is taken as early as Hunter was (No. 2 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft), elite upside is presumed. However, a big reason Hunter went that early is that he’s also an NFL-caliber cornerback. The nature of his generational talent is the ability to play an offensive position and a defensive position at the highest level. He is not a generational wide receiver. He is not a generational cornerback.
The good news is that we are not without insight into the Jaguars’ plans. They traded up to get Hunter, which is not a move they likely would make for a guy they envision spending significant time on defense. That’s not to say he won’t play defense. He certainly will. However, we should expect him to be primarily a wide receiver, precisely what the new head coach, Liam Coen, said.
Q: What is your vision for Travis Hunter? Do you see him playing more on offense?
Liam Coen: “We’ll have a plan right now of [him playing] primarily on offense, with him learning the defensive system and practicing on the defensive side of the ball as well throughout this… pic.twitter.com/juYRrsGXLc
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) April 25, 2025
Hunter did not join a team with a void at wide receiver. The Jaguars have Brian Thomas Jr., who is already one of the best young WRs in the league. He is an elite player, and Hunter poses no threat to Thomas’s WR1 status. That said, that doesn’t preclude Hunter from being a fantasy factor.
Coen was the architect behind Baker Mayfield’s career season in 2024. He coaxed another WR1 season out of 31-year-old Mike Evans and had Chris Godwin pushing 20 PPG before the latter broke his ankle in Week 7. I’m not saying Hunter is likely to be a WR1 alongside Thomas. It’s possible that both can be immensely productive.
The Jaguars do not project to have a particularly great backfield. However, this team could throw a ton, especially with a defense that checks in at No. 31 in PFSN’s Defense+ metric.
Last season, the Jaguars’ pass rate when trailing by seven-plus points was only 64%, the 12th lowest in the league. Even when losing, they ran more than they should have. We could be in store for more volume and better play calling from a smart young offensive mind.
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Hunter’s average draft position (ADP) sits at WR30, which is very fair for a player with his wide range of outcomes. I have him ranked at WR29, right in line with consensus.
Given my affinity for Thomas and my disdain for Trevor Lawrence, I will not be investing in two Jaguars wide receivers. If I draft Thomas, I’m not taking Hunter. At the same time, Hunter’s price is reasonable. If you don’t end up with Thomas, there’s nothing wrong with taking a chance on Hunter. As long as the steam doesn’t get too hot, elevating him to a place where it becomes more difficult for him to provide a positive return on investment, Hunter is a fine selection as your fantasy team’s WR3.
Dan Fornek’s Travis Hunter Projection
There is no player in fantasy football in 2025 with a broader range of outcomes than Hunter. The 2025 second overall pick is truly a unicorn player attempting to do something that nobody has done before, playing significant snaps on both sides of the football within the same game at the NFL level.
That comes with significant risk. On one hand, Hunter was one of the best wide receiver prospects in the 2025 draft class, catching 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns during his final season at Colorado and winning the Heisman trophy. Hunter has consistently flashed his explosive playmaking ability in camp, frequently earning praise from head coach Liam Coen.
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On the other hand, Hunter is easily the best defensive back on Jacksonville’s roster and will also play on that side of the ball. Trying to predict his weekly snap share on both sides of the ball could quickly become a headache, especially as the season progresses and injuries pile up. Playing that many snaps increases his own injury risk as well.
Drafting Hunter requires fantasy managers to be willing to take on a considerable risk with a massive payoff in 2025 as we watch a player try to do something unprecedented at the NFL level. If he spends most of his time on offense, he has the talent and explosiveness in space to immediately be a top 24 wide receiver in fantasy football. Fantasy managers must be willing to ride the wave until we get more clarity on his utilization within the offense (and defense) as a rookie.
