Not so long ago, even some Indianapolis Colts fans thought the team (and the rest of the division) was in serious trouble. The Jacksonville Jaguars sold the farm to move up three spots and get Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter.
Hunter struggled on offense and defense as a rookie before a knee injury cut his campaign short. He bulked up during the offseason to cope with the physicality of the pros, but he's still an unproven commodity.
That's why they will now limit Hunter to playing full-time on defense and just sparingly on offense. Turns out that the so-called two-way star might not be much of a threat to the Colts' strong secondary after all.
The Indianapolis Colts will only have to face Travis Hunter on offense
"We'll definitely have a package on offense to be able to get him some opportunities," Coen said on the Rich Eisen Show. "There's been a steady increase in his defensive work just by nature of where we're at on defense and continuing to try to create consistency. "
Hunter made it loud and clear that he wanted to be a two-way player in the pros, but who would've guessed that's virtually impossible to do in big 2026? Regardless of his talent and athleticism, it's simply not realistic.
The Jaguars may have overpaid for a guy who can be a very good cornerback and an occasional wide receiver at best. Maybe they could've put those assets to better use instead of being fixated on the flashiest toy about to enter the league.
The Colts will have to deal with him and the Jaguars twice a year, and having them give him the bulk of the work at cornerback might actually be better for these matchups. He has the ball skills to be a ball-hawk, but he's a work in progress in coverage, and he'll struggle to keep up with a bigger and more physical guy like Alec Pierce.
Shane Steichen has too many weapons to throw at him. He's listed as the Jaguars' CB1, but he might be in for a tough awakening when he has to face the Colts' trio of savvy pass catchers, and he won't be get away with as many gambles as he did in college; he'll get burned.
It's too early to tell, and it's never wise to count out a player after a rough rookie season. However, the more the Jaguars go back and forth with their plans for Hunter, the more they're slowing down and hurting his development.
More than that, even if he turns out to be a very good player, it's hard to believe he'll be able to live up to the hype and the steep draft capital the Jaguars had to give up to get him. And every time a divisional rival messes up, it feels like another big win for our team.
Add us as a preferred source on Google