JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
JT from Palm Coast, FL
Travis Hunter is now on the IR? What happened? This is a gigantic loss. An argument can be made that he is our best defensive and offensive player. Damn, damn, damn. Get well soon, Mr. Hunter. This team desperately needs him.
The Jaguars indeed on Friday placed rookie wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter on injured reserve after he sustained a knee injury in practice Thursday. I don't know that he was a clear-cut choice as the team's best offensive and defensive player, but I would listen to the argument. Hunter under the NFL's injured-reserve rules will be out at least four games, with Head Coach Liam Coen on Friday saying he doesn't yet know exactly how much time Hunter will miss. I don't get the idea this is necessarily a season-ending issue, but that's unknown as of this writing. Either way, it's indeed a loss and the timing is tough. Hunter had the best offensive game of his career in a Week 7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the Jaguars' last game before last week's bye. He caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown in that game and was showing why many considered him the best receiver in last spring's draft. The sense here is he was set to be much more involved offensively moving forward. This one is tough.
Shawn from Moore County, NC
So, my concerns of a two-way player being a disadvantage of shorting two positions due to injury came true. Our biggest need was defensive tackle and we should have taken defensive tackle Mason Graham at No. 5. Halfway through the year we still need a defensive tackle – and now a corner and receiver. We also don't have a first-round pick next year. Did we make a big mistake drafting Hunter when we weren't one position away from being elite?
The Jaguars didn't draft Hunter to "fill a need" because that's not how smart teams with an eye on the long-term approach the NFL Draft. The Jaguars selected Hunter No. 2 overall because they believed he was the draft's best player and the player who would most help them for the foreseeable future.
James from Socorro, NM
Let the downward spiral continue!
My Scooby Sense – and not my Scobee sense or Spidey sense – tells me you believe the Jaguars are in a "downward spiral" and that that "downward spiral" will continue because of Hunter's injury. I can't say Hunter's injury isn't a blow. I expected his offensive role to increase moving forward and the team hoped he would be far more critical to that side of the ball in the final 10 games of the season than he was in the first seven. But while Hunter's injury matters a great deal, it doesn't mean the Jaguars' two-game losing streak must continue – and it doesn't mean the season is lost. But it does make the upcoming, critical month of the season more difficult. The Jaguars are a beat-up team right now, with defensive end Travon Walker playing with one hand and with players such as safety Eric Murray (neck), tight end Brenton Strange (hip) and linebacker Devin Lloyd (calf) out. Some good news regarding injuries would be really welcome. You can overcome this stuff, but only to a point.
Tucker from Nashville, TN
Hey John, I get the Trevor hate. He isn't carrying the team, but at the same time he isn't getting much help. Our run game is nonexistent for the past two weeks. Receivers are still dropping passes and penalties are still an issue. My biggest problem right now with Trevor isn't just the errant throws but the fact that Trevor doesn't throw the ball away when nothing is there.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence certainly could be better in this area at times.
Troy from Dover, PA
Do you think Walker will get an extension anywhere near what the Detroit Lions gave defensive end Aidan Hutchinson?
I think whenever Walker signs his second NFL contract it will be for huge numbers with a huge guarantee. Very, very huge. I don't know that it will be as big as that of Hutchinson because Hutchinson is a better pass rusher and sacks drive NFL contracts.
Brandon from Louisville, KY
Injuries to key players like Hunter and Travon suck. Injuries are part of the game, but I'm afraid we go on a losing streak now. It feels different but the results are the same.
Stay tuned.
Tony from Johns Creek, GA
O, losing Hunter to injured reserve hurts the cause. However, if the Jags can run the ball and stop the run, it will minimize the loss of Hunter.
True.
Scott from Gilbert, AZ
Zone, I'm not sure there is now any way to look at it other than what would have been our first three picks combining for a total of 298 yards receiving with one touchdown and 15 tackles with three passes defensed and no interceptions through eleven games; and possibly more. Picking in the top five has historically resulted in greater production.
I suppose you could look at Hunter's injury that way. Maybe you could also look at it as a player who made multiple big plays offensively and defensively in seven games – and who was clearly improving rapidly at each spot – sustaining an injury in practice. It's professional football. Injuries happen.
Chris from Mandarin
The difference between Trevor Lawrence and Dan Marino, Brett Favre and John Elway in terms of ball velocity is that those quarterbacks knew when to do it and when to throw with touch. You did not see Brett Favre throwing a 100 mph fastball to a running back in the flat.
OK.
Wayne from Jacksonville
You were recently asked what three former Jaguars would you bring back to join the current team and you named three offensive, Hall-of-Fame-caliber players. Who would you bring back defensively in their prime? Thanks, O!
My three: Defensive end Tony Brackens, cornerback Rashean Mathis and defensive tackle Marcus Stroud and/or John Henderson. I'm not as passionate about this list as the offensive list that included running back Fred Taylor, left tackle Tony Boselli and wide receiver Jimmy Smith because I covered Mathis only briefly and never covered Stroud or Henderson. But as lists go, the thought here is it's not bad.
Sam from Orlando, FL
How can Travis Hunter ever live up to being taken second overall? He would have to be the best wide receiver in the draft and an impactful defender on a game-by-game basis. At some point, players taken by this organization in the Top 5/10 of the draft need to actually play like it. (Not so much a rookie Travis Hunter, but when does this franchise actually see normal return on an investment?)
I agree that it will be difficult for Hunter to "live up" to the outside expectations and hype of the Jaguars trading up to select him No. 2 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. If you include his "star" status entering the NFL as a Heisman Trophy winner – and social-media celebrity – I don't know that Hunter will ever "live up" to it all. I'm not sure any player could do that. But that's outside perception stuff – and that sort of stuff is impossible to control. What Hunter can do is fulfill what the Jaguars expect of him and he can absolutely contribute to them being a competitive team in the long- and short-term. Which is, after all, sort of the point.
Joe from Greenville, SC
Not really a question, but it does my heart good to see Marcedes potentially getting to make history as the oldest tight end to play the game. Would be very funny to debut against fellow draft classmate DeMeco Ryans' Texans this week. One fer Marcedes.
Former Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis signed with the Denver Broncos' practice squad Wednesday at age 41. Here's hoping Lewis joins the active roster for what would be his 20th NFL season. One fer Lewis? Absolutely.
Chris from Mandarin
I'm going to try John, really try, not to criticize Trevor Lawrence again for the time being. This isn't meant as a criticism, but a genuine curiosity. Why do you think it is that throughout his career he hasn't fed the hot hand in his receiver corps? All of the good-to-great quarterbacks seem to do this.
Maybe he has been throwing to the open guy?
Armand from Jacksonville
How is Brenton Strange doing, and how soon before he gets back on the field?
Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange is progressing as scheduled from a hip injury and my impression is he has a very good chance to return when the Jaguars play host to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11. Because Strange is on injured reserve, that's the soonest he can return.
BRUCE from ST SIMONS IS
O, helping others and being selfless. Way to go O! The Holy Spirit is at work in you!
Is it?
