Through three weeks of the 2026 season, the Jaguars are already seeing the early returns on the Travis Hunter deal, and the clearest evidence is showing up on defense.
Jacksonville owns the NFL’s top-scoring defense, and Hunter has become a major part of that start. The Browns steered away from him in Week 1, he was the Jaguars’ best corner in Week 2, and against the New England Patriots last week he turned in his biggest game yet, capped by his first NFL interception.
That production has fed into one eye-popping stat: Hunter is one of only two cornerbacks to be targeted multiple times in man coverage and still allow a 0.0 passer rating this season, alongside Trent McDuffie.
What makes that even more striking is the path Hunter has taken to get there. He’s putting together elite work at corner in his eighth, ninth and tenth NFL games after spending most of his time as a wide receiver rather than a full-time defensive back. Add in the fact that he is doing it after last year’s season-ending knee injury, and the start he’s off to looks even more remarkable.
The Jaguars have found something rare in a corner who can wipe out an opposing target, and in the Browns game, even a whole side of the field. Hunter has always had that kind of ability at the position, but with more live reps now coming his way, the payoff is beginning to show.
Jacksonville leaned heavily on zone a year ago, but Hunter gives defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile more freedom to lean into man coverage. That flexibility matters, because Hunter is not just erasing receivers in coverage - he has also become one of the few players who can point to both an interception on defense and a touchdown catch on offense.
Campanile pointed to the traits that are driving the progress.
“I think Travis has tremendous flexibility and balance, and that's what enables him to change directions so well. I was just talking about the top of the route. I think that's one of the things he does a very good job of and he's continuing to get better at," Campanile said on Thursday.
He also praised the way Hunter is sharpening the details that separate good coverage from game-changing coverage.
"The eye discipline, I think that's one of the things in the last year for him that he's continuing to get better at and that's showing up and it's paying off for him. I think that's what makes him really tough to deal with at that position.”
Campanile has drilled the secondary on a simple formula: eyes, feet, hands, then the finish. Hunter said on Thursday that he can feel that process taking hold.
"Just like Camp says, it is the eyes, feet, hands. You know, all that plays a part in the play," Hunter said from the locker room on Thursday.
"But the plays when I was around the ball, I didn't get to the ball fast enough because my eyes were wrong. But you know, I got to continue to lock in on the first detail, which is eyes, and then my feet and my hands are gonna follow."
For Jacksonville, the point has never been about Hunter doing anything flashy to justify the price tag. It’s been about letting him play and waiting for the development to catch up. Between the patience, the knee injury, and the early growing pains, that process is now producing one of the league’s best man-coverage corners.
The next test comes this week against Ja'Marr Chase and the Cincinnati Bengals. Based on what Hunter has shown over the first three weeks, Week 4 could bring another sign that the Jaguars’ draft-night gamble is beginning to pay off.
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