Jaguars DE Reveals Travis Hunter’s ‘Crazy’ Schedule As Star Rookie Prepares for 2-Way Role in NFL

The Jacksonville Jaguars are approaching the 2025 season as a make-or-break year. After firing head coach Doug Pederson, the franchise replaced him with Liam Coen, while also adding James Gladstone as the new general manager. The duo immediately went to work, making a blockbuster draft day trade for Travis Hunter.

However, the biggest question surrounding the reigning Heisman Trophy winner has been his position. A two-way athlete at Colorado, Hunter was clear in his intentions of taking on the same workload at the professional level. Now, a veteran defensive end on the team has revealed the work Hunter is putting in to make it a reality.

Travis Hunter Leaving No Stone Unturned To Prepare for 2-Way Role With Jacksonville Jaguars

In one of the most astounding seasons in college football history, Hunter logged over 80% of the total snaps for the Buffaloes, suiting up at both wide receiver and corner for the resurgent program, and he’s trying his best to make it happen in the NFL as well.

Veteran defensive end Arik Armstead, who signed with the Jaguars last offseason following nine seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, appeared as a guest on FS1’s “First Things First.” During the segment, he was asked to weigh in on Hunter’s potential as a true two-way threat.

“[He’s] a natural-born athlete,” Armstead said. “When you look at playing both sides of the football, his schedule is crazy. It’s like two days he’s on offense and then he comes over and he pops up in our defensive meetings and then he’s out there with our color jersey on.”

Hunter’s impact goes far beyond rookie highlights as even established veterans like Armstead have been inspired by his exceptional athletic ability.

“First day he’s playing defense, he makes a crazy interception and then goes on offense scoring touchdowns,” Armstead continued. “I’m really excited to have him as a teammate and he brings a lot to Jacksonville.”

Armstead also made it clear that Hunter’s influence goes beyond his athleticism on the field.

“He’s bringing a lot of excitement to the city, and people are going to want to watch him play,” said Armstead.

For a Jaguars team that is ranked 18th on PFSN’s Offense+ metric and second-to-last on the Defense+ metric, an upgrade is necessary on both sides of the football. In late April, Gladstone made it clear that Hunter is indeed going to be playing both sides of the ball.

“His intent is on playing both sides of the ball, as is ours,” Gladstone told ESPN. “When it comes to his onboarding process we’ll give him a heavy dose of offense, and sprinkle in the defensive side of the ball, knowing that by the time we get to the regular season, those should be balanced out.”

If Hunter lives up to expectations as a true two-way contributor, he could be the difference-maker the Jaguars need to transform both their offense and defense as the team aims to make the postseason for the first time since 2022.