After a rookie season marred by injury, Jacksonville’s two-way sensation must balance elite talent with durability to prove his historic versatility can truly dominate the NFL.
Two-way star Travis Hunter has been generating a ton of buzz this offseason regarding his comeback season.
It is also why he is on a massive ‘sophomore watch’ candidate. The reason is pretty simple—he is currently entering his second year in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars after an incredibly unique, highly debated rookie season in 2025.
When he came out of Colorado as a consensus top-five pick and a historic Heisman winner, the entire football world was obsessed with whether his two-way dominance (playing both wide receiver and cornerback) could actually translate to the pros.
His 2025 rookie campaign gave us a partial answer, but his sophomore year is where the real drama unfolds.
In Colorado, Hunter was the ultimate iron man, playing over 1,000 snaps a season. But the NFL is a different beast.
In 2025, the Jaguars had to dial back the experiment to protect his body after he suffered a season-ending knee injury. They also played primarily as a cornerback while giving him occasional, highly calculated packages on offense.
The pattern is expected to follow Hunter this season as well, as almost every analyst believes that the Jaguars will play him at CB, while occasionally lining him up on offense, if necessary.
Travis Hunter on Second-Year Breakout Watch
CBS Sports’ Zachary Pereles believes the same, as he put Hunter on top of his sophomore breakout candidates' list
“Is he a cornerback? Is he a wide receiver? Both? Is one much more than the other? Hunter's rookie year was a disappointment even before his season-ending knee injury, but he is a tremendous talent. Based on the Jaguars' roster construction, more duty at cornerback seems likely. Either way, he has to deliver if Jacksonville looks to build on its strong finish to last season,” Pereles writes of Hunter.
The primary blocker in Hunter’s last season was finding the balance between practicing for playing on both sides of the ball and actually playing on both sides of the ball at the pro level. The stakes and pressure are on a different level than what Hunter is used to at the collegiate level. Not getting overwhelmed or overworked would be the key to finding his rhythm for becoming the sophomore breakout player for the Jaguars.
The sheer physical toll of playing at this level caught up to him, and he spent a portion of the 2025 season visibly banged up, dealing with lingering injuries that kept fantasy managers and Jaguars fans constantly checking the injury reports.
His sophomore watch is largely about durability and adjustment. Year two is when an elite athlete's body finally adjusts to the speed and collision volume of pro football. How Hunter finds that balance will be crucial.
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