There are rules in the NFL—the kind you’ll find in a rulebook. And then there are the other ones. The unwritten kind. The ones every rookie learns before they even memorize the playbook. Like this one: if you’re new here, you carry the gear. Helmets, shoulder pads, sweaty towels—whatever the vets leave behind, you’re the one picking it up.

Or, as former safety Matt Bowen once put it, “You have to understand as a rookie that when the veterans are done with practice during training camp, they’re going to leave their helmets and shoulder pads there, and it’s your job to pick ’em up and carry ’em.” Luckily, we’re in the midst of the 2025 training camp, and guess who’s fulfilling the rookie duties in Jacksonville? It’s Travis Hunter.

On Monday, a clip went viral that featured the Jaguars‘ No. 2 overall pick getting the rookie treatment. Hunter was spotted carrying the veterans’ pads after the practice. Queue up the classic: ‘Welcome to the NFL.’ That’s not disrespectful at all. It’s just one of the NFL’s unwritten rules that every rookie has to follow. Second overall pick? Doesn’t matter. Late-round pick? You’re in as well.

As Bowen put it almost a decade ago, when Hunter was probably in middle school, “That’s not disrespect at all,” he said. “Earn your stripes. You’re a rookie. You carry the pads into the locker room. After this year, you can do whatever you want. You can make the next year’s class carry your pads into the locker room.” Long story short: Travis Hunter is just following the legacy of some great NFL players who once were rookies.

It’s the script we’ve seen before. Take Bowen, for instance. During his rookie year with the St. Louis Rams, there was a veteran defensive lineman who asked Bowen to bring coffee because he didn’t like the coffee in the dorms. And it was for every single day. Though Travis Hunter isn’t bringing the coffee for the Jaguars’ veterans, sure. But he’s following the NFL tradition—a tradition to carry veterans’ helmets and shoulder pads after the practice ahead of his rookie season.

Did we get a confirmation of Travis Hunter’s role in his rookie season?

A player playing on both sides of the ball isn’t breaking news in the NFL. We’ve seen it before. But not quite as exceptional as Travis Hunter is. The Colorado Buffaloes’ product turned heads in his last season under Coach Prime’s coaching, where he piled up 1,152 yards on 92 catches, 15 TDs, along with 32 tackles and four interceptions. So, when the Jags picked him No. 2 overall, there was just one question, a couple of them, to be precise: Should Travis Hunter play receiver? Should he play corner? Or both?

Well, Liam Coen and Co. used Hunter’s talent precisely earlier this offseason. They carefully introduced Hunter as a two-way weapon. But didn’t overwhelm him. During OTAs, he spent most of his reps on offense while absorbing the complexity of learning route trees, audibles, and adjustments. But things shifted in the mandatory camp. Hunter started in team drills as a wideout and midway through practice switched to defense.

Fast forward to the training camp, and it seems like Liam Coen and Co. are hinting at Hunter’s expected role in his rookie season. At the camp, Hunter took 36 snaps on offense and 47 snaps on defense through four practices. The head coach stated that, “You want to give him (Hunter) a couple days offense, a couple days defense, and then give him an opportunity to go flip-flop within the same practice and then that will kind of become the norm.”

“…Every moment, every minute that he is in the building, it is accounted for and trying to make sure that we maximize his time, our time so that we can ultimately get the best outcome.” Translation? They’re easing Hunter in. Count offense some days. Defense the others… Then, let him go both ways in one practice. But in the meantime, and as per his reps, the odds are in favor of Travis Hunter as the cornerback for his rookie season.