The Travis Hunter Element that Everyone Has to Consider Entering Jaguars’ Week 3

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Patience is not often something that anyone in the NFL finds. No matter the role, draft status, position, job title, patience is fleeting in a league that demands winning now.

That can be a tough lesson to learn sometimes, especially when it comes to players, coaches, and teams in general that carry high expectations — higher than most. That seems to be the case with the Jacksonville Jaguars and last year’s No. 2 pick, Travis Hunter.

Entering a Week 3 battle with the New England Patriots, there is one element of the Hunter dialogue that is worth remembering and considering before kickoff: Sunday is going to be Hunter’s 10th NFL game.

The Hunter Element

When the Jaguars drafted Hunter, they were not afraid to let the expectations hit unseen heights. The team said he had the ability to change the sport, and he has certainly flashed it in his first nine games. There have been some big moments, such as a 100-yard game against the Los Angeles Rams and game-changing catches in upsets of the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. But through the first two weeks of the 2026 season, Hunter has far from changed the sport.

The answer as to why that is the case is one that people, present company included, are likely not factoring enough when it comes to Hunter’s development. Hunter played in only seven games as a rookie, playing extensive snaps on both sides of the ball in the process, before a serious knee injury. While people were ready for Hunter to become an X-Factor from Day 1, the simple reality is that patience would always be needed for a player with his role.

That kind of patience is not often afforded to any players, and it has often not been afforded to Hunter. The fact he missed nine games as a rookie is simply the top reason the impact has not yet happened. He was starting to his his stride and it seemed like the Jaguars were ready to lean on him when he got hurt a year ago, and it makes sense to consider that the Jaguars may not deem it the right path to simply pick up where they left of.

That is one point raised by NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, who reported Saturday that Hunter’s role is set to expand as the year goes on and as he gets more reps coming off his knee injury. After all, Sunday will be the 10th game Hunter has played in.

RELAX, Jags fans. More Travis Hunter on both sides of the ball is coming starting Sunday vs. Patriots pic.twitter.com/lst8iy9BgJ

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) September 26, 2026

“This was a part of the Jags’ plan, and I checked in this week on this. They essentially gave me a relax message on Travis Hunter. Their plan was to ease him in coming off that serious knee injury. They planned for him to be a part-time player early and ease him up through that long run you just mentioned with the schedule,” Wolfe said.

“From what I understand, this week has been his most busiest week playing offense in practice, and I expect him to play much more than he did the first two weeks on that side of the ball. It’s a balance for them. They know that he wants to be out there on the field all the time, but they know they need to protect him for him to last the whole season. What I was told is week one won’t be the same as week 18, and the hope is that he can play significantly more on offense and defense later on in the year. They’ve been rotating their three corners outside and two different spots to try to get him some extra breather, but expect that to lean off a little bit less as the year goes on. They know his playmaking ability is needed.”

It will likely continue to take time and patience for Hunter to get back into his stride, though he said from the locker room today that he feels as if he is is moving faster and earning more and more of the trust from his teammates.

Look for Sunday to be a potential Hunter day, because it could be easy to sum up his first two weeks as a ramp-up process if he starts shining later the year.