Jaguars News: Travis Hunter to Full-Time Cornerback for 2026 Season
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that the Jaguars intend to deploy Hunter as a full-time cornerback and part-time receiver when the 2026 season kicks off. The organization confirmed Hunter is on track to be a full participant by the start of training camp in late July.
Hunter has been sidelined since Oct. 30, when he suffered a non-contact LCL tear during a defensive practice drill. He underwent successful surgery on Nov. 11 at the hands of Dr. Dan Cooper and Jaguars team physician Dr. Kevin Kaplan in Dallas. The team confirmed there was no additional damage to the knee beyond the isolated ligament tear.
“Eyes on return to play at full tick in training camp,” general manager James Gladstone said Thursday at the team’s pre-draft media luncheon. Gladstone described Hunter as a limited participant through the current offseason program.
The injury cut short what had been a promising first NFL season. Hunter played seven games, catching 28 passes for 298 yards and one touchdown. He averaged 6.4 targets per game before going down. His most productive performance came in Week 7 in London, where he hauled in eight catches for 101 yards and a score in a 35–7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He was placed on injured reserve the following day.
The role change, while significant, aligns with what many evaluators believed before the 2025 NFL Draft — that Hunter’s most elite traits lived on the defensive side of the ball. During his seven games, he played 67 percent of Jacksonville’s offensive snaps and 36 percent of its defensive snaps. That balance is about to shift.
The Jaguars’ wide receiver room no longer needs Hunter as a featured option. Parker Washington finished the 2025 season as Jacksonville’s leading receiver, posting 58 catches for 847 yards and five touchdowns. Brian Thomas Jr. added 48 catches for 707 yards. Jakobi Meyers, acquired from the Las Vegas Raiders at the Nov. 4 trade deadline and signed to a three-year extension in December, contributed 42 receptions for 483 yards and three touchdowns over nine games.
With those three receivers established, the team’s offensive depth at the position reduces Hunter’s target opportunities considerably. The Jaguars are betting his ceiling is higher locking down opposing receivers than it is running routes.
On defense, Hunter had recorded 15 tackles and three pass breakups in limited snaps before his injury. Jacksonville’s cornerback group is expected to feature him as a starter opposite Jourdan Lewis in 2026.
For fantasy football managers who invested in Hunter, expecting a heavy offensive workload, the news is a difficult one. Those in formats without individual defensive player scoring face the steepest drop in his value heading into 2026 dynasty rankings.
The Jaguars finished the 2025 regular season 13–4 under first-year head coach Liam Coen before falling to the Buffalo Bills 27–24 in the Wild Card round.