After striking gold with their first-round selection of Brian Thomas Jr. in 2024, the Jacksonville Jaguars entered the offseason with something that the franchise hadn’t seen in a long time: hope. So much so, apparently, that the franchise was willing to immediately double down on their luck by trading both its 2025 and 2026 first-round picks in exchange for the services of the 2024 Heisman trophy winner, Travis Hunter.
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The decision to risk the next two years on the potential of the former Colorado Buffalo managed to surprise everyone, including Hunter himself. During a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, the Jaguars’ premier pass rusher, Josh Hines-Allen, suggested that almost no one on the roster could have imagined such an outcome on draft night.
Nevertheless, he’s more than happy to have Hunter on his side.
“I’m in a group chat with my financial advisor and another teammate of mine. He’s like, “Wow! That was a ballsy move.” I’m like, huh? What’s happening? Then you gotta go open up Twitter, the social medias, and we traded up to number two. Wow. And I feel like this is the guy who can help us immediately. I think Travis was the best player in this draft, hands down.”
As far as the decision to trade a large amount of draft capital for one player goes, Allen claimed to be all in favor of it. “Go get ’em. I love it.” The Jaguars have seldom made a splash in either the draft or free agency, so the move is certainly a welcome change of pace for both veterans and fans alike.
Hunter’s rookie debut figures to be one of the most anticipated of its kind in recent history for Jacksonville, and if Allen’s assessment of Hunter in training camp proves to be accurate, then it’s safe to say that the wait will be well worth it.
When Eisen directly asked him to explain what Hunter has “showcased” throughout camp so far, the two-time Pro Bowler warned that Hunter’s friendly persona can be deceiving. Allen also noted that, for all of the glitz and glamor that came with Hunter’s offseason, his newfound teammates, on both sides of the ball, are still testing his mettle.
Despite being on the wrong end of the rookie treatment, the rookie is reportedly still managing to hold his own.
“Outside of what everybody else sees, dancing and having fun, outside of that, he’s a super competitive player. He wants to win… Everybody wants to challenge him. Because we want to see what you’re made of… Defensive guys want to see what you’re about, and we had a lot of that. We had a lot of great competition. I love the competitiveness that he has.”
Allen’s assessment is certainly an encouraging one for both the fan base and the front office of the Jaguars. Seemingly as advertised so far, the Florida native is slowly shaping up to be the local hero that the people need him to be.
