Travis Hunter's 2026 Role Hits the Mainstream

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Time moves slow in the offseason, which means James Gladstones words from a month ago seem to be settling into the mainstream discussion when it comes to Travis Hunter.

Hunter's name is a central topic amongst analysts, writers, the fantasy football community, and more as a recent report from NFL Network insider Cameron Wolfe has further introduced what the Jaguars' plans for Hunter are. More importantly, Wolfe also reports on his potential Week 1 status.

Hunter's 2026 Role

During his Wolfe of Ball Street segment on NFL Network, Wolfe noted what the Jaguars' plan for 2026 and Hunter is set to be -- the same plan Gladstone indicated last month, which appears to be the most likely outcome for Hunter and his two-way skill-set.

"Jacksonville, where they're coming off a magical season, and they think 2026 can be even better because they get their unicorn back. Travis Hunter is expected to be 100%, full go by Week 1. He had surgery on the LCL in his knee. He will play both sides again in 2026," Wolfe said.

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"The big change may come in the usage. From what I understand, they plan to play him as a full-time cornerback, a part-time receiver, which is a switch from last year, when he played more than double of his snaps at receiver than cornerback," Wolfe said.

"I hear fantasy football fans groaning. They think Travis Hunter can be elite at cornerback and still be an impact player on offense. They also have Montaric Brown and Greg Newsome, cornerbacks about to be free agents. They're expected to let at least one of those cornerbacks walk in free agency, so Travis Hunter can have that starting spot there. So still a huge impact player for the Jags, just different than what it looked like his rookie season."

This has always been the expected plan for Hunter, but it is good news that is finally settling in as a reality outside of Jacksonville. Hunter played twice as many snaps at wide receiver than he did at cornerback last year, but the Jaguars have a different roster contruction this time around.

For one, when Hunter was drafted the Jaguars had not yet traded for Jakobi Meyers or had been shown that Parker Washington should be a starting receiver. Hunter was the Jaguars' No. 2 receiver when he was drafted, and two more receivers have been added to the mix since then. And then at cornerback, the Jaguars have two players set to be free agents who combined for over 1,000 snaps at cornerback in Montaric Brown and Greg Newsome.

"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.

"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."

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