- Making a name for himself around the league: Hunter owns the seventh-highest PFF coverage grade among qualified corners, including second in man looks.
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After one season of Travis Hunter as a professional, some around the football landscape were already questioning his trajectory in the NFL. After all, could Hunter possibly live up to the billing of a second overall pick — one acquired in a colossal trade up — if he weren’t going to play both sides of the ball, as he did at Colorado?
However, four games into the 2026 season, Hunter is silencing his critics. His outing in Week 4 was even more of a death blow to those wondering about his value.
Hunter was all over the field for the Jaguars as they eked out a hard-fought 22-17 road victory over the Bengals. In fact, Hunter finished the day as Jacksonville’s highest-graded defender upon initial review (86.4), a mark that resets a personal high for the talented 23-year-old.
Guarding Cincinnati’s receiving room is no easy feat, but Hunter was up to the task. Hunter produced a preliminary 86.9 PFF coverage grade, allowing only 26 yards on seven targets while breaking up two passes. The second-year corner also secured a would-be interception that was nullified by a defensive penalty.
Coming into Sunday, attention swirled around Hunter facing off against All-Pro receiver Ja’Marr Chase, the latter of whom was mum about facing the burgeoning talent. While Chase’s afternoon was cut well short due to a concussion, Hunter permitted only one catch for six yards when guarding the receiver. Likewise, Hunter was not initially charted as being responsible for any catches awarded to Tee Higgins. Altogether, those are very encouraging results for Hunter given the level of competition.
Travis Hunter's Week 4 ranks among cornerbacks
Metric Value Rank Overall Grade 86.4 3rd Coverage Grade 86.9 3rd Passer Rating Allowed 65.2 28th Forced Incompletion Rate 29% 12thHunter’s outing in Cincinnati helped open eyes, and it also underscored this fact: He’s quickly rounding into one of the better cover corners in the league.
Indeed, through four games, Hunter has earned a 76.3 PFF coverage grade. That’s the seventh-highest among corners with 100 or more coverage snaps, ahead of players such as Pat Surtain II, Derek Stingley Jr. and Sauce Gardner.
One of Hunter’s calling cards coming out of college were his phenomenal ball skills, and those have taken little time to translate. His 18% forced incompletion percentage places 12th out of those 59 qualified cornerbacks. Further, Hunter has yielded just a 58.2 passer rating when targeted, the 10th-lowest at the position.
Hunter’s ball production is that much more impressive given that defenses continue to test him. Among qualified cornerbacks, Hunter ties for 31st in snaps per target (6.9), already being tried 17 times through four games. While the Jaguars corner has yielded 129 yards on 10 catches, 75 of those came in Week 3 alone, which renders his overall performance that much more sound.
Last year’s second overall pick is developing at a ripe time for a Jaguars defense that’s needed multiple draft selections to step up. Fellow corners Jarrian Jones (37.4 overall PFF grade) and Montaric Brown (51.4 PFF coverage grade) have either generally underwhelmed or been sidelined to begin 2026. In essence, Hunter is turning into the team’s best corner in isolated, true coverage situations.
Along similar lines, Hunter has been lockdown in man coverage. His 91.1 PFF coverage grade in the look is the second-best among the league’s qualified corners through four games, a number meaningfully higher than Jones (29.3) and Brown (48.8). Given that Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile has implemented the 12th-highest rate of man coverage, Hunter’s presence is a game-changer for a group sitting seventh in EPA per play.
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Only four games into being almost exclusively a perimeter cornerback — and just 11 cumulative matchups into his pro career after suffering a knee injury midway through last season — there are definitely still elements for Hunter to clean up. For instance, his 50.5 PFF run-defense grade is 78th out of 99 qualified cornerbacks, having yet to record a stop on 58 such plays. Further, his 12.9-yard average reception distance is the 27th-worst, indicating that he’s been liable to some bigger plays.
However, the first quarter of the 2026 season paints a clear picture of Hunter as a college superstar rounding hastily into form. If his ascension continues over the course of the year, Hunter will swiftly establish himself as one of the sport’s premier all-around cornerbacks — and a player that the Jaguars have zero regrets paying such a steep price to acquire.