Travis Hunter’s rookie season came to an early end due to a knee injury, but one of the 2025 first-round pick’s veteran teammates saw enough to know he believes the wide receiver/cornerback brings something special to the table.
Defensive lineman Arik Armstead has spent more than a decade in the NFL and he said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that he thinks Hunter stands alone when it comes to what he’s capable of doing on the field.
“He’s a game changer,” Armstead said. “He’s probably the most naturally talented athlete, just pure athlete I’ve been around, and I’ve been around some amazing ones. It was good for our sport, and it was good for our team.”
That ability led the Jaguars to trade up for Hunter and there were flashes of it on both sides of the ball, but Hunter was still finding his footing at the time of his injury. Armstead thought Hunter was “starting to hit his stride” when his season ended and he believes having a year under his belt will lead to more production this fall.
“Things will slow for him, just like they do for all of us,” Armstead said. “He’ll be going into his second year being in the same system, around the same coaches, and knowing what is asked of him. We know how challenging that can be as a rookie just mastering one side of the ball, so I think in Year 2 he’s going to take a huge step and help our team in a lot of different ways.”
The Jaguars haven’t outlined exactly how Hunter will be deployed in 2026 and he’ll need to be fully cleared for practice before that plan really starts to take shape, but Armstead will be among those expecting big things once it does.
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