How quickly we cast aside one NFL rookie class for another! All anybody wants to talk about are expectations for Fernando Mendoza, Arvell Reese and Jeremiyah Love.
Slow down for a minute, and let's pontificate on Harold Fannin Jr.
Amid the avalanche of curiosity regarding the 2026 NFL draft class, I took a step back to reevaluate the 2025 class. It's far too early for a redraft or any similar declaration of stardom or bustdom. In fact, I have major questions about several of the highest-drafted sophomores from last season. How will the Jaguars deploy Travis Hunter next season? Is Ashton Jeanty ready to explode in Year 2?
I posed eight of the biggest questions I have about the upcoming sophomore class and did my best to answer them -- or, at the very least, detail what will happen next season to help answer these questions.
Jump to: How will the Jags use Hunter? Will Jeanty break out this season? Is Egbuka the Bucs' WR1? How high is Fannin's ceiling? Could Burden, Loveland see more work? Will Campbell stick at LT for the Pats? What's next for Emmanwori? Can the Bengals' LBs improve?
How will the Jaguars play Travis Hunter -- and is that the best approach?
Much has been made of Hunter's role in 2026. The Jaguars played him on offense and defense in his rookie season after trading up in the first round because of that generational versatility. But speculation swirled this offseason that Hunter would become a full-time player on defense and receive a minimized role on offense.
The snowball started during the Jaguars' postseason availability in January, during which general manager James Gladstone predicted Hunter getting an uptick in cornerback snaps: "At this point, walking into the offseason, corner is a position that we have a few guys who are on expiring contracts. By default, you can expect there to be a higher emphasis on his placement."
After that comment, the Jaguars extended one of those expiring contracts (Montaric Brown) but let another (Greg Newsome II) expire. They added only UDFA corners in free agency to replace Newsome's outgoing 518 snaps. The Jaguars would have brought in a veteran if they had uncertainty about playing Hunter there in an expanded role.
As Gladstone said earlier this month on the "Rich Eisen Show," "Last year it was a higher volume, higher percentage of wide receiver usage than it was corner. I think we can expect to see that corner percentile and count go up as we move forward. That's not to say anything impacts his availability and usage on offense. It just means that cornerback usage will increase."