The Jacksonville Jaguars are embarking on a unique experiment with Travis Hunter, the University of Colorado standout selected in the 2025 NFL Draft who is expected to play both wide receiver and cornerback—a rare two-way role not seen in the league for over sixty years.
A Groundbreaking Role for Hunter
When head coach Liam Coen, in his first NFL head coaching role, learned the Jaguars had traded up to draft Hunter, he recognized the challenge ahead went far beyond typical playbook adjustments. Hunter’s determination to compete on both offense and defense full-time demanded a completely fresh approach, as Coen put it, “No other coaches have dealt with this situation. You really need to reach back to high school football, where players routinely handle both sides of the ball.”
Coen—a former UMass quarterback who climbed from assistant wide receivers coach with the Los Angeles Rams to Jacksonville’s head coach in just seven years—leaned on his experiences working alongside respected figures like Sean McVay and Todd Bowles. Yet Hunter’s unprecedented situation pushed the coaching staff to break new ground beyond any existing playbook.
Meticulous Preparation and Support
Right from the start, the Jaguars mapped out a careful, gradual integration for Hunter into the NFL landscape, avoiding any temptation to throw him into the deep end immediately. An upper-body injury disrupted Hunter’s preseason preparation, keeping him out of the final two exhibition games. Even with that hiccup, Jaguars general manager James Gladstone confirmed Hunter received medical clearance to begin the regular season as a two-way player.
“He’s back on the grass at full speed,” Gladstone shared with reporters. “There’s been no change to our plan. We expect him to make an impact on both sides of the ball, and we’re excited to see that unfold on Sundays and one Monday night this season.”
Balancing Offense and Defense Demands
This challenge has required not just strategic coaching but also an extensive support network—athletic trainers, performance scientists, dietitians, and player engagement specialists—all keeping close tabs on Hunter’s physical condition. During early offseason practices, Hunter focused mainly on wide receiver responsibilities. Once training camp kicked off in July, his schedule shifted to include more offensive reps—roughly two days with the offense, a day with the defense, then back to offense—reflecting the time required to develop chemistry with quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Even on offense-heavy days, Hunter would use breaks to review cornerback responsibilities with defensive coaches, frequently running through coverage schemes with staff members acting as receivers.
Game Action and Conditioning
Hunter’s preseason debut came against the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he took part in 11 of 12 first-team offensive plays, hauling in two passes for nine yards while also logging eight defensive snaps (though without any recorded stats). By the third week of training camp, Hunter was practicing both positions on the same day—essentially doubling his workload and requiring constant attention from the performance and conditioning teams.
Offensive coordinator Grant Udinski highlighted Hunter’s remarkable conditioning: “I don’t know that I’ve seen anybody at that level.”
Rather than fretting about Hunter wearing down, the emphasis has been on ensuring the intense activity doesn’t compromise other facets of his health. The Jaguars employ Catapult trackers to measure Hunter’s daily movement—monitoring total distance, speed, and exertion levels—allowing them to manage his training load with surgical precision.
Managing Weight and Recovery
At 6-foot, 185 pounds, Hunter is considered somewhat undersized entering the NFL. Coen explained the delicate balance: “We want to ensure he’s gaining weight properly. It’s challenging because he burns an enormous number of calories every day, so we have to calibrate exactly how much he eats to replenish energy and add mass.”
While exact numbers remain confidential, NFL personnel estimate that typical players handling single-side duties plus special teams cover between 6,000 and 7,000 yards—roughly 4 miles—during intensive practice sessions. Hunter’s mileage likely surpasses that figure, given his two-way responsibilities and exclusion from special teams.
Continuous Adjustments and Analytics
Every day presents a learning opportunity for coaches and performance staff as they fine-tune Hunter’s on-field participation, weight room sessions, and classroom meetings to optimize his development while avoiding overtraining.
Coen stressed the value of data: “We monitor his top speeds, mileage, and intensity percentages daily. The analytics help us recognize when to scale back workload—it’s really about protecting him from himself.”
While the Jaguars won’t reveal specific speed targets, the team’s director of performance science, Chris Bach, noted through a spokesperson that they meticulously track Hunter’s response to training loads against established benchmarks for receivers and defensive backs, ensuring a truly personalized approach to his conditioning.
Looking Ahead: An Ongoing Experiment
Hunter’s shortened preseason due to injury limited opportunities to observe how he handles the two-way role during actual game preparation. Still, Coen considers the training camp and preseason successful from a player management standpoint.
Moving into the regular season, the Jaguars will keep refining Hunter’s role through close coordination between wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett and secondary coach Ron Milus, strategically distributing reps and ensuring Hunter receives quality work with both units.
Coen described their methodology: “If we’ve covered a play multiple times, he might not need that repetition on a particular day. We want to maximize his reps and concentrate on the key areas where he must improve.”
The Jaguars see Hunter as a transformative player capable of game-changing contributions on both offense and defense. They plan to fully support his development while maintaining careful oversight to preserve his health and performance at this unprecedented level.
(Top photo: Logan Bowles / Getty Images)
