Jacksonville is betting everything on Travis Hunter‘s two-way experiment. The second overall pick has been grinding through a customized offseason program designed specifically for playing both cornerback and wide receiver. Nobody’s attempted this consistently in the modern NFL, making Hunter’s journey completely unprecedented. Josh Hines-Allen recently weighed in on his rookie teammate’s ambitious plan during an appearance on the ‘Rich Eisen Show.’ When asked if Hunter can handle both sides of the ball regularly at the professional level, the veteran defender didn’t hesitate. “I believe so,” said Hines-Allen. But these beliefs are going to be huge for Hunter because the major load comes to him due to Hines’ ranking.

Josh Hines-Allen terrorized quarterbacks with 17.5 sacks just two seasons ago. The Jacksonville pass rusher sits on the verge of franchise history, needing just a few more sacks to become the team’s all-time leader. His relentless motor and complete skill set have made him one of the NFL’s most feared edge defenders. Yet ESPN’s latest top 10 edge rusher rankings completely ignored him.

The Jaguars’ defensive leader dropped from his previous rankings despite logging eight sacks in 2024. Travon Walker led the team with 10.5 sacks, but Jacksonville’s overall defensive struggles hurt both players’ stock. The Jags finished dead last in pass rush win rate, making individual achievements harder to notice. ESPN’s top 10 started with Myles Garrett, followed by T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons. Nick Bosa, Maxx Crosby, Trey Hendrickson, Aidan Hutchinson, Will Anderson, Danielle Hunter, and Jared Verse rounded out the list. Even the honorable mentions stung—Brian Burns, Nick Bonitto, George Karlaftis, and Jonathan Greenard—all received recognition.

Jaguars beat writer John Shipley couldn’t hide his frustration during a recent podcast. “I personally think the fact that Josh Hines-Allen isn’t even an honorable mention doesn’t make sense to me unless you’re, of course, looking at nothing but sack numbers. Just the names that I think he should be over—George Karlaftis, I don’t see how that’s even a debate. The Chiefs, if they could swap Josh Allen and George Karlaftis today, they would.”

Hines-Allen has watched Hunter closely through OTAs and minicamp. Based on what he’s seen, offense looks like Hunter’s primary destination. The rookie has been splitting practice time between sides of the ball, but never simultaneously. That changes once training camp kicks off. Hunter will start operating on both offense and defense within the same practice sessions. It’s a massive step toward regular-season reality where he’ll need to flip between cornerback and receiver mid-game. The offseason gave Hunter a controlled environment to develop each skill set separately. Training camp removes those safety nets and forces him to truly master the two-way grind. Now Allen’s ranking deduction is really gonna cause Hunter a headache.

The frustration peaked when Shipley questioned the entire evaluation process. “What are we talking about? Is the only thing that edge defenders do in the NFL pass rush? I get it’s the most important thing. 100% get that. But if I have a great pass rusher like Josh Hines-Allen, who is still one of the best in the NFL in pressures, pressure rate, and all that—if he’s ranked below guys who, even those who make up the poll, are saying, ‘He’s one dimensional, but he’s pretty good at that one dimension,’ that doesn’t make a lick of sense to me.”

The snub feels personal for Jacksonville. There’s always been a “Jaguars tax” when it comes to national recognition. Small-market teams struggle for respect until they start winning consistently. Hines-Allen noticed his previous exclusions on social media, and this latest slight won’t go unnoticed either. The disrespect might be exactly what Jacksonville needs. Hines-Allen is tracking to become the franchise’s all-time sack leader as early as Week 1. With Travis Hunter joining the defense and the team’s rising trajectory, these snubs are building a dangerous chip on their shoulders—bad news for opponents facing an already motivated pass rusher.

Hunter’s two-way NFL dream faces brutal reality check

Travis Hunter dominated college football by playing both sides of the ball. He averaged over 100 snaps per game at Colorado, won the Heisman Trophy, and led the team in receiving yards and touchdowns. Now, Jacksonville is betting its No. 2 overall pick can pull off something nobody’s done consistently in the modern NFL. Trevor Lawrence sees the mountain Hunter needs to climb. Speaking at the American Century Championship golf tournament, the quarterback identified the biggest obstacle ahead. “I think your commitment to learning the playbook and trying to learn the two systems. It’s a lot as a rookie,” Lawrence said. “It’s challenging to learn everything, and he’s done a nice job, and we still have work to do, and we’re going to get a lot done in training camp and get us ready to play come September.”

The mental load is staggering. Most rookies struggle learning one system. Hunter’s memorizing offensive and defensive playbooks simultaneously. Lawrence praised his work ethic despite the overwhelming challenge. “Travis has been great, you know. Just his work ethic, how he’s come in. And he’s been, you know, one of the hardest working guys we have,” Lawrence said. “I’m really excited for him and how he can help our team.”

General manager James Gladstone confirmed Jacksonville’s commitment to the two-way experiment. The team believes Hunter is more natural on defense, so they started him at receiver to develop those skills. “Time will truly tell, and I think the thing you can in fact read into at this stage is that he does not tire. He has got a spark. He has got the energy. The capacity from a physical standpoint, just to be able to do it, it’s certainly there,” Gladstone said. “It will be in terms of one game to the next, where does it fit, where does it make the most sense. Certain game plans may dictate usage differently.” Hunter’s pairing with Brian Thomas Jr. could create matchup nightmares for opposing defenses. Jacksonville finished 4-13 last season and desperately needs playmakers. Hunter’s unique versatility might be exactly what transforms their struggling offense and defense into something special.