Once Again, the Narrative Has Missed the Mark on Jaguars' Travis Hunter

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Even after a 13-4 season, an AFC South title, and candidates for MVP and Coach of the Year, the Jacksonville Jaguars are still just the Jaguars to the rest of the sports world.

That is an odd pill to swallow, but it is clearly the case. This has been made evident by a rash of overreactions and, frankly, misinformation about the case of second-year cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter.

travis hunter — Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) yells as his is introduced before an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Texans 17-10. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Hunter Case

Despite the Jaguars being one of the NFL's most promising teams with stars at quarterback and head coach, nobody is actually listening to the Jaguars. Instead, they have opted to already submit their verdict on Hunter and his career after just seven games as a rookie.

This is the chip Jaguars head coach Liam Coen has discussed before. He is keenly aware of how the Jaguars have long been covered and viewed outside of the confines of Duval County. Like the Jaguars team under him last year, Coen has embraced the disrespect and used it to his advantage.

But the recent firestorm of Hunter and his 2026 usage isn't disrespect. It has past the point of ignorance, even. At this point, it is people outside Jacksonville clearly and plainly telling us one thing: they do not actually care what the Jaguars are doing with Travis Hunter.

The most recent case of Hunter hysteria, which seems to occur every four-to-five weeks despite zero new updates on his usage since January, came from a report via Ian Rapoport. Rapoport, discussing James Gladstone's comments on Hunter's timeline for recovery, had this to say,

From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: The #Jaguars first round draft pick in 2026 is still Travis Hunter Jr. A look at what's next for him and what they are looking at in the Draft. pic.twitter.com/87kcRcg2Ob
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 9, 2026

"It does seem like Travis Hunter is doing exceptionally well from that LCL tear. He has been running. He is doing well. He's not going to be, as they mentioned, a full participant in OTAs, but they really do believe he will be full by training camp," Rapoport said.

"But when he comes back, and this is something that our Cam Wolfe has told us over the last several weeks, they expect him to be a full-time corner, part-time receiver, which, when you talk to teams last year, that probably was where they thought the value was and really where they thought the production would lie."

Rapoport, of course, is referencing a report from Cameron Wolfe from Feb. 13. Wolfe reported then that the Jaguars plan to play Hunter full-time on defense and part-time on defense.

THE WOLFE OF BALL STREET: EARLY OFF-SEASON PREVIEW

- Why Travis Hunter offense vs. defense usage will change a lot in 2026
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- Browns could go with Shedeur Sanders and/or Deshaun Watson at QB, pass on drafting QB high again pic.twitter.com/1pQ60wmKm3
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) February 14, 2026

So in Rapoport's update, not only was nothing new added to the conversation, but somehow people believed it was their first time hearing it. Instead, those who actually follow the workings of the Jaguars franchise would tell you that James Gladstone said it in January.

"Yeah, I think very fair to say his rehab process is going as expected. He's hitting it hard and obviously the joy that he brings to just the everyday operation is still something that permeates throughout the space that he enters and beyond that and the role that he'll play, we still expect him to play on both sides of the ball," Gladstone said on Jan. 14.

Mar 30, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

"Obviously you can take a peek at expiring contracts on our roster and which side of the ball has more. Obviously at this point walking into the offseason, corner is a position that we have a few guys who are on expiring contracts. By default, you can expect there to be a higher emphasis on his placement,"

Gladstone himself said three months ago what the plan was. He will play more corner, but still play some receiver. This is no real change from a year ago other than the corner and receiver role are inversed. Last year, he played twice as many snaps at receiver than at cornerback.

#ChargeOn https://t.co/FtrcUtcPGq pic.twitter.com/tnIuvSKmak
— John Shipley (@_John_Shipley) April 11, 2026

But last year, we were not getting people completely misrepresenting the information. Just in the last two days, we have seen an entire T.V. segment in which the host summed up his dissapointment in Hunter "no longer playing both sides of the ball". The social media post of that segment, by NFL Network's Kyle Brandt, has since been deleted.

Brandt was far from the only one to fall for the lack of media literacy and lack of care for Jacksonville coverage. It has become the theme with Hunter's offseason. At zero point have the Jaguars ever once indicated he will not play both ways, just as he did last year. He will just play more cornerback.

Is that the right path? I don't know. Will it make the trade look better or worse? As much as Jaguars fans will not want to hear it, the trade has already not aged well and it is unlikely to ever recoup the value the Jaguars gave up.

But that is not the argument here. I am not discounting any questions of the Jaguars' decision to make the Hunter deal.

When it comes to Hunter and the Jaguars, though, at least make sure you have your facts straight. Few have so far.