The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the 2025 season with incredibly high expectations. With a healthy Trevor Lawrence and a new head coach in Liam Coen, the fan base was expecting the franchise to improve on the magic of the 2022 season, especially with the addition of rookie sensation and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, through the first two weeks of the season, Hunter hasn’t lived up to his superstar billing, leaving the Jaguars to start 1-1. In a worrying sign for fans in Jacksonville, that trend did not take a 180 when they faced off against the Houston Texans in a key divisional matchup.
What Happened to Travis Hunter?
The biggest debate for folks around Hunter was whether or not he would be used on both sides of the football. Those questions were answered immediately, as he got snaps as a defensive back and a wide receiver starting in Week 1.
However, his performance on neither end was game-changing, leading to a deep dive by The Athletic’s Diana Russini into his performance through two weeks. Even if the sample size was small, it increased with his showing against the Texans in the first half.
Travis Hunter’s Limited Usage Raises Eyebrows
The star talent has only logged four snaps—two on offense and two on defense—leaving many questioning the game plan.
Hunter’s fantasy value has bottomed out.pic.twitter.com/50iNvUO2SG
— RotoLegends (@RotoLegends) September 21, 2025
Coming out of the halftime break, though, he immediately turned explosive. Facing a 1st and 20, Jacksonville had to make some magic happen. Thankfully, they had the Colorado Buffaloes superstar to make that a reality.
Catching the ball behind the sticks, he got rid of the first defender with a spin move before juking the second defender to easily get to the first down. He had also gotten some reps on the defensive end.
The night didn’t improve significantly for Hunter from there on. By the end of the game, that 21-yard reception was his only catch of the night, as his defensive impact was limited to six total tackles.
However, the Jaguars came away with the victory, moving to 2-1 on the season and creating a massive gap between themselves and the back-to-back division champions, the Houston Texans.
In her piece, Russini mentioned, “Hunter is an undeniably talented player with a rare skill set. Right now, though, his usage is very much a work in progress, which highlights just how demanding playing both ways can be at the NFL level.”
But through three games, it is hard to make a complete judgment on a young rookie. Add in the time he missed towards the end of training camp, and some of his early-season struggles could become a thing of the past in quick fashion once he puts it all together.
