{"id":63336,"date":"2025-05-19T22:01:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T22:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/63336\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T22:01:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T22:01:12","slug":"jacksonville-jaguars-ota-no-1-observations-travis-hunter-is-still-developing-as-wide-receiver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/63336\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville Jaguars OTA No. 1 observations: Travis Hunter is still developing as wide receiver"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> were back on the practice field at the Miller Electric Center for the first organized team activity workout Monday, May 19.<\/p>\n

As the team enters the third phase of the offseason, we had our first look at the full roster sans a few players who weren\u2019t present at the voluntary practice.<\/p>\n

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That means, yes, we did finally get to see quarterback Trevor Lawrence<\/a> throw a pass to rookie two-way player Travis Hunter<\/a>. We also got our first look at Jacksonville\u2019s offense under Liam Coen<\/a> with the new free agent additions and rookies.<\/p>\n

Primed for Primetime: Travis Hunter a big reason why Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Chiefs is on Monday Night Football<\/a><\/p>\n

The offense looked a step slower than the defense during practice, which is to be expected since it\u2019s the first time they\u2019ve gone against each other this offseason.<\/p>\n

A few players stood out, including wide receiver Dyami Brown<\/a>, who flashed his speed on the field alongside Brian Thomas Jr.<\/a> and Hunter. He looked right at home next to the two standouts and will slot in as the third of the receiving trio for the Jaguars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Darnell Savage intercepted a pass from Lawrence where the ball was overshot over the middle with Hunter as the intended receiver.<\/p>\n

We got the first look at the rebuilt offensive line for Jacksonville with free agent additions Patrick Mekari and Robert Hainsey joining Walker Little, Anton Harrison and Ezra Cleveland.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at a few observations from the first OTA:<\/p>\n

Travis Hunter is still growing as a receiver, will take time to adjust to NFL\"Jacksonville<\/p>\n

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) catches a pass during the first organized team activity at Miller Electric Center Monday, May 19, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t mean this as a slight, but I understand why the Jaguars are taking this approach with Hunter. He\u2019s still very raw as a wide receiver.<\/p>\n

In the last three years, the team brought in three highly touted pass catchers. Calvin Ridley, BTJ and Hunter.<\/p>\n

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Just looking at the technical side of being a receiver, I\u2019d consider Ridley elite. His route running and feet placement were always top notch.<\/p>\n

Thomas didn\u2019t look great in early practices last year, but he showed flashes of his ability to run crisp routes.<\/p>\n

Hunter doesn’t stand out as a route runner through the two opportunities to view him in rookie minicamp and the first OTA. Last week was against air and this was the first full practice, but in watching him and how much time he spends with coaches in between reps, you can see the need and want for growth.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s flashed his ability to stretch out and reel in passes, that\u2019s not an issue whatsoever. And his film shows he\u2019s a playmaker any time he touches the ball in a game.<\/p>\n

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But at this stage of his career, he needs to become better about the technical side of being a receiver. Getting lined up, getting off the line of scrimmage, route depth and location are all works in progress for him.<\/p>\n

Which is why I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if the Jaguars spent the summer just utilizing him as a receiver on the grass and allowing training camp to be when he gets time on the field as a cornerback.<\/p>\n

Jaguars\u2019 cornerback room is position to watch\"From<\/p>\n

From left, Jacksonville Jaguars safety Antonio Johnson (26), safety Daniel Thomas (20), cornerback Tyson Campbell (3), safety Andrew Wingard (42) and cornerback Jourdan Lewis (2) walk off the field during the first organized team activity at Miller Electric Center Monday, May 19, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla.<\/p>\n

The Jaguars drafted Hunter with the intention of playing him on both sides of the ball. The assumption is by Week 1 he’ll be in the starting 11 on defense.<\/p>\n

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But we\u2019ve yet to see him get reps or practice at cornerback thus far in the offseason. The team has integrated him into defensive meetings and worked in the classroom with him already.<\/p>\n

We just haven’t seen him as a defensive back on the field. OTA No. 1 gave us a chance to see what the current cornerback room looks like without Hunter on the field.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s interesting.<\/p>\n

Jourdan Lewis was given reps opposite Tyson Campbell in Hunter\u2019s absence. Buster Brown also saw time outside as did Jarrian Jones.<\/p>\n

Essentially, without Hunter, the Jaguars don\u2019t have a true second boundary cornerback at this point.<\/p>\n

Brown has become the de facto answer in previous seasons, but it appears defensive coordinator Antony Campanile has a different idea for when Hunter isn’t playing.<\/p>\n

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It’ll be worth watching the rotation if Hunter doesn’t get a lot of time with the defense over the next few weeks.<\/p>\n

Though, it’s still early so this all is relatively irrelevant.<\/p>\n

Trevor Lawrence doesn\u2019t look as sharp in first OTA, no need to panic\"Jacksonville<\/p>\n

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) looks to throw next to quarterback John Wolford (18) during the first organized team activity at Miller Electric Center Monday, May 19, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla.<\/p>\n

Trevor Lawrence had a down practice on Monday. He was off on several passes to receivers and threw two interceptions in 11-on-11 periods.<\/p>\n

It shouldn\u2019t be time to hit the panic button, though. Lawrence had season-ending surgery on his non-throwing shoulder and went three months without passing a football.<\/p>\n

This is his first time throwing a football against a defense since being knocked out of the game against the Houston Texans last December.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also still relatively early in his progression through Coen\u2019s system. From an outsider\u2019s perspective, the new system is a lot more advanced than the one head coach Doug Pederson ran.<\/p>\n

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Even down to the team working on individual drills, the quarterbacks were put into situations where they were required to make throws on the run outside of the pocket. While Pederson’s drills required the same, this feels like more of an intentional approach from Coen and company. Yes, Lawrence missed passes. Yes, he will miss passes during the next open practice.<\/p>\n

But at this time, I don\u2019t see it as cause for alarm or concern.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Observations from Jaguars OTA No. 1: Travis Hunter still developing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Jacksonville Jaguars were back on the practice field at the Miller Electric Center for the first organized…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2060],"tags":[5934,4133,4048,8512,4894,5490,7,253,212,125,2401,213,5932,1120,1642,6,5417,2636,5418,128,314,7872,8477],"class_list":{"0":"post-63336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville-jaguars","8":"tag-anton-harrison","9":"tag-brian-thomas-jr","10":"tag-calvin-ridley","11":"tag-darnell-savage","12":"tag-dyami-brown","13":"tag-ezra-cleveland","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-houston-texans","16":"tag-jacksonville","17":"tag-jacksonville-jaguars","18":"tag-jacksonvillejaguars","19":"tag-jaguars","20":"tag-jarrian-jones","21":"tag-jourdan-lewis","22":"tag-liam-coen","23":"tag-nfl","24":"tag-patrick-mekari","25":"tag-receiver","26":"tag-robert-hainsey","27":"tag-travis-hunter","28":"tag-trevor-lawrence","29":"tag-tyson-campbell","30":"tag-walker-little"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114536755098395271","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}