Ranking Jaguars On Offense: Travis Hunter Breakout Season And Boom-Or-Bust RB

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2025 fantasy football outlook is packed with upside, from breakout wideout Brian Thomas to versatile weapon Travis Hunter. Add in the boom-or-bust potential of Travis Etienne, and this offense offers plenty of intriguing draft-day decisions.

Foundation Stud

Brian Thomas, Wide Receiver

In his rookie season, Thomas was the top breakout wide receiver, leading to him finishing fourth in wide receiver scoring (87/1,282/1). He made big plays (18 catches of 20 yards or more, with seven gaining at least 40 yards), and the Jaguars gave him plenty of targets. Jacksonville’s new head coach comes off a great season as the offensive coordinator for the Buccaneers, signaling a great year-two opportunity for Thomas. He is the clear top receiving option in this offense with a high ceiling in catches, yards, and scoring.

Brian Thomas Jr. had a 29% slot rate last year

That improved to 42% in the first week of preseason

Here's why that's significant 👇 https://t.co/eioCwzRJHn
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) August 10, 2025

Value

Travis Hunter, Wide Receiver

In mid-August, Hunter draws a backend WR3 rating, sandwiched around three other talented young wideouts – Rome Odunze, Emeka Egbuka, and Ricky Pearsall. Any of these four players could break out, and each could outperform their ADP. Unfortunately, at the end of the year, one player may emerge as the best wide receiver difference-maker in this area of drafts.

Jacksonville recognizes that Hunter’s best early value to the team lies at wide receiver early in his career, but they must also find a balance to utilize him on defense. His unique skill set clouds his fantasy wide receiver profile, almost putting him in coin toss territory – I want some shares, but do I want to fight for him in drafts? His talent is immense, and Hunter should be the clear number two option in the passing game for Trevor Lawrence.

Some of Hunter’s apprehension stems from a lack of trust in the Jaguars’ starting quarterback. Their rookie wideout brings big play and scoring ability, and Jacksonville will give Hunter plenty of chances close to the line of scrimmage to move the chain.

Travis Hunter offensive and defensive highlights pic.twitter.com/cNt1H9FAnl
— TruthToldTV (@TruthToldTV) August 10, 2025

Fantasy Gift or Trap

Travis Etienne, Running Back

I’ve been a fan of Etienne over his four years in the NFL, but he has underperformed my expectations three times, once due to a missed year (drafted him on 50% of my BestBall teams) and twice being mispriced in drafts based on his final results.

Jacksonville has three viable running backs, two of whom have low catching profiles, either by career resume in the pros and college, or in pass protection. Based on this alone, Etienne should remain the Jaguars’ top receiving option out of the backfield, helping his week-to-week floor in fantasy points in PPR formats.

He comes off a down season (150/558/2 with 39 catches for 254 yards) while struggling to make plays in the run game in back-to-back seasons (3.8 and 3.7 yards per carry). His yards per catch graded well in 2022 (9.0) and 2023 (8.2), but fell to 6.5 yards last season.

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) catches a pass during the first organized team activity at Miller Electric Center Monday, May 19, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the 32nd-ranked running back in August, a fantasy drafter should be looking for a rotational player for bye weeks, with the potential to be a flex option. To reach this status, Etienne must average over 10.00 fantasy points per game, with an increase in value scoring. When at his best in 2023, he ranked third in running back scoring (282.40 fantasy points), up from 17th in 208.10 fantasy points in 2023.

Last season, the Jaguars’ offense touched the ball 526 times (418/2,161/13 with 108 catches for 894 yards and seven scores on 121 targets. Jacksonville didn’t have a receiving touchdown by a running back last season (359/1,521/12 and 58/404 on 83 targets).

Drafting Etienne this year should be based on the comparison of running backs around his ADP, with an understanding of his potential. Even in a split role, he should have over 200 touches with 17 games played. His goal line chance won’t be ideal with Tank Bigsby bringing the armor in short-yardage situations. I see more reward than risk in Etienne, but I’m blinded by past investments.