Every year, the NFL Draft injects a ton of new talent into the league. Naturally, this shakes up fantasy football values. With the Jacksonville Jaguars trading up to make Travis Hunter the highest drafted wide receiver since Calvin Johnson, what does this mean for the fantasy values of Brian Thomas Jr. and Trevor Lawrence?
Fantasy Impact of Jaguars Drafting Travis Hunter
You would think that in the year 2025, we’d have seen it all by now. While prospect evaluation will never be an exact science, at the very least, there should be historical precedent for every player. That’s not the case for Hunter.
While Hunter is not the first two-way player in NFL history, he is the first to play both offense and defense in college at an extremely high level. For fantasy football, this presents a challenge in evaluating Hunter, as we have no interest in seeing him excel at cornerback. Not only does that not help us, it would actively hurt us, as it stands to reason that Hunter is not going to be an 80% snap share guy on both sides of the ball.
Brian Thomas Jr.
How much does Hunter impact Thomas? It depends on how much offense he plays. But even then, it’s hard to see how Hunter is a direct threat to Thomas.
The talented sophomore is the clear alpha WR1, and Hunter is unlikely to change that. Most importantly for Thomas, the Jaguars lack a clear second option in the passing game. This offseason, the Jaguars let go of WR2 Christian Kirk and TE1 Evan Engram.
There’s plenty of volume available for Hunter that won’t come at the expense of Thomas, who has room to improve upon his 25.5% target share from his rookie season. I am still very confident in Thomas as a fantasy WR1 and someone we want to target in drafts this year.
Trevor Lawrence
For the quarterback, Hunter’s presence is only a positive. In reality, he’s a positive regardless of how much he plays offense vs. defense.
We still don’t know whether Hunter will be a full-time wide receiver, playing cornerback only sparingly, the reverse, or an even split. But his presence is only a good thing. When Hunter is out there at cornerback, that will make it more difficult for opponents to complete passes. Therefore, he will contribute to the offense by getting the ball back quicker.
When Hunter is out there at wide receiver, he’s another talented weapon at the quarterback’s disposal.
Lawrence won’t be drafted as a fantasy starter this season, but we’ve seen QB1 flashes before. If Lawrence cannot succeed with a WR duo of Thomas and Hunter, then he’s probably destined for a career being what he’s been — a lower-third NFL starter and a fantasy QB2/streamer.
Brenton Strange
There’s not much to discuss as it pertains to Brenton Strange. The veteran tight end exists in his own sphere. He plays a different game than Hunter or Thomas. It’s unlikely that Hunter’s presence will have a significant negative impact on Strange.
Last season, Engram averaged just 9.9 fantasy points per game. He did see a 25.3% target share, though. It’s unlikely that Strange will be a one-to-one replacement. He’ll be a fine high-end TE2/streamer.