Parker Washington has gotten so much attention for his meteoric rise as a wide receiver last season that it can be easy to forget how dynamic he is as a punt returner.

Even before he got his opportunity to be one of the focal points of the offense, Washington served as the Jacksonville Jaguars' primary punt returner. As a rookie in 2023, he averaged 10.5 yards on 12 returns. In 2024, he only returned six punts, but made the most of them, averaging a whopping 24 yards, including a 96-yard touchdown

Last year, Washington returned 25 punts, averaging 13.6 yards, and taking another two to the house.

The fourth-year WR has established himself as one of the most dangerous special teams weapons in the NFL.

However, with Washington's emergence as one of the Jaguars' best and most important offensive players, there were questions about whether Jacksonville would still risk exposing him to a potential injury as a returner.

On Friday, head coach Liam Coen confirmed that Washington will indeed remain the team's punt returner, as reported by Ryan O'Halloran of The Florida Times-Union.

However, Coen divulged that Washington will eventually have some surprising competition for the job from two-way phenom Travis Hunter.

Hunter is already a two-way phenom as a wide receiver and cornerback. While the Jaguars are scaling back Hunter's usage at WR and making him a full-time CB, Coen wants to get the ball in Hunter's hands more.

Speaking about Washington's hold on the job, Coen adamantly stated that he is "absolutely" the team's punt returner.

For now.

But then Coen made the somewhat shocking announcement that Hunter will get some of the return work eventually.

"He's the guy right now, absolutely. We've messed around with a couple of other guys being able to catch punts and do some different things. At some point, Travis (Hunter) will get some of that stuff, too. We have to continue to put him in positions to get the ball in his hands and see what that looks like. But right now it's Parker."

Hearing Coen talk about Hunter as a returner in the future is definitely something that should cause ears to perk up, especially if Jacksonville wants to limit Hunter's potential risk of suffering another serious injury after last season's LCL tear ended his rookie campaign after only seven games.

Washington is one of the best punt returners in the NFL. Hearing Coen thinking about replacing him is shocking from a production standpoint, but makes a whole lot of sense if he wants to preserve Washington's health.

That's what makes hearing Hunter as Washington's competition for the job so surprising. Hunter's ability on both offense and defense arguably makes him even more important to the club than Washington.

Why replace the risk of a Washington injury with the risk of a Hunter injury?

That said, the thought of Hunter returning punts is a tantalizing thought. Getting the ball in his hands as much as possible is always a good idea.