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The Jacksonville Jaguars will look a lot different when the 2025 NFL season kicks off this fall. Jacksonville made several important changes this offseason after only winning four games during the 2024 season. One of the biggest moves was prying Liam Coen away from the Buccaneers and making him the next head coach of the Jaguars.
Coen went to work right away putting his stamp on the roster. He started all the way at the top, replacing GM Trent Baalke with former Rams Director of Scouting Strategy James Gladstone.
The pair of Coen and Gladstone made some smart moves in NFL free agency, adding depth on both sides of the football.
However, the new regime made its biggest moves during the 2025 NFL Draft. The Jaguars added nine players, a handful of whom will have important roles during their rookie seasons.
Jaguars fans finally have some hope for the future with Coen and Gladstone at the helm.
But it is not all sunshine and rainbows. Not every move this new regime makes will work out.
What was the greatest risk that Jacksonville took during the offseason? And will it eventually hurt the team during the 2025 NFL season?
Below, we will explore the riskiest move the Jaguars made during the 2025 NFL offseason.
Jaguars mortgaged their future to acquire generational talent in Travis Hunter
Let's first start with a disclaimer. Just because a move is risky does not mean it is boring or widely panned. In fact, it can be an exciting and sexy move like this one.
The Jaguars shocked the NFL when they traded up to the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Jacksonville then selected superstar and dual-threat unicorn Travis Hunter.
Before we get into the specifics about why this was a risky move, let's go over the trade terms between Jacksonville and Cleveland.
Jaguars receive:
- 2025 first-round pick (WR/CB Travis Hunter)
- 2025 fourth-round pick (RB Bhayshul Tuten)
- 2025 sixth-round pick (S Rayuan Lane III)
Browns receive:
- 2025 first-round pick (DT Mason Graham)
- 2025 second-round pick (RB Quinshon Judkins)
- 2025 fourth-round pick (RB Dylan Sampson)
- 2026 first-round pick
Jacksonville gave up a nice package of picks just to move up three spots to select Travis Hunter.
On paper, this is a risky move by the Jaguars. Jacksonville could have easily stayed at pick five and drafted a really good player, likely Mason Graham. They also could have traded down and acquired more picks to fuel their retooling efforts.
Jacksonville will have to prepare for next offseason without a first-round pick. It is easy to ignore future picks for a time, but the Jaguars will inevitably experience some pain because of this trade.
The riskiest part of this move is not simply giving away a future first-round pick. It is a fact that this move creates pressure for the new regime. If the Jaguars experience growing pains in 2025, and end up having a poor record, it will hurt even more to not have their first-round pick.
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Travis Hunter truly is a generational talent, and he is worth taking a big gamble on. But that does not mean it will work out, or that it was a smart move.
Ultimately, the Jaguars will fully understand how risky this trade was after the 2025 season. Then they will know exactly how valuable their first-round pick really is.
What should Jaguars expect from Travis Hunter during his rookie season?
The Jaguars took a big risk trading for Travis Hunter, but they did land a generational prospect in the process.
But what should Jaguars fans expect from Hunter during his rookie season?
The team has already dropped plenty of hints about how they'll use their young superstar. Of course, they are still leaving some mystery to the situation, so we have to do our best to translate what's happening.
First, it seems that Jacksonville fully intends to let Hunter play on both offense and defense. Hunter confirmed that he even talked with both coordinators shortly after being drafted.
“They put me on the phone with both coordinators,” Hunter said.
Hunter had previously demanded that he be allowed to play both receiver and cornerback during the pre-draft process.
Hunter was in Jacksonville for the team's rookie minicamp earlier in May.
He started off minicamp working with the offense. However, Coen confirmed that Hunter would spend some time working with the defense as well.
The frustrating part of this situation is that Jaguars fans may not even have a clear answer during training camp.
Jacksonville will likely experiment with a few different ways to use Hunter during training camp. That could still be an enlightening experience for fans, but it will not guarantee how Hunter will be used in the NFL.
Ultimately, the Jaguars will likely keep a lid on Hunter's exact role until Week 1.
Every NFL fan will be anxiously awaiting Travis Hunter's NFL debut against the Panthers in Week 1.
