Travis Hunter’s Two-Way Performance in London

When general manager James Gladstone decided to move up in the 2025 NFL Draft to select Travis Hunter Jr., he was confident that this Heisman Trophy winner could make an impact on both offense and defense for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The recent game in London against the Houston Texans gave fans perhaps the clearest insight yet into this vision.

Hunter became part of a rare club by making both an interception and catching a touchdown pass during the game. Although the Jaguars ultimately lost 34-31, it sparked some optimism among their supporters that Hunter could be on the verge of a breakout performance on both sides of the ball.

His touchdown reception — the first of his season and only his second in the NFL — came early in the fourth quarter, bringing Jacksonville within a field goal of the Texans. The play was well designed, with Hunter lined up in the backfield, finding himself matched up against a defender. He made a clever inside cut, and Trevor Lawrence delivered a pass that resulted in a touchdown for the Jaguars.

Taking a closer look, you can see how Hunter expertly released from the backfield, exploited the defender’s positioning, and secured the ball while hitting the ground for his inaugural NFL touchdown this season.

On the day, Hunter recorded four receptions for 59 yards, marking his best performance as a receiver in the league so far.

Interestingly, Hunter’s primary focus has largely been on defense lately. Last year, he was used more offensively, with 324 snaps on that side of the ball compared to only 162 on defense.

Before the game against the Texans, he had only taken 21 offensive snaps against 249 defensive snaps this season, indicating he’s been heavily relied upon in defensive situations, making up nearly 80% of Jacksonville’s defensive plays.

A few weeks prior, he had an interception against the New England Patriots, but his second interception came at a critical moment for Jacksonville.

Right after his touchdown reception, he intercepted a pass intended for C.J. Stroud in the end zone.

This interception not only halted a Houston scoring opportunity but also opened the door for the Jaguars to tie or potentially take the lead as they moved late into the game. Another look at Hunter’s interception shows just how pivotal this moment was.

Jacksonville did manage to level the score on their next drive, but despite a last-minute loss to the Texans, this performance in London was precisely what Gladstone envisioned when he selected Hunter at the top of the draft.

As for the historic feat he accomplished, Hunter became just the third player since the 1960s and the first since Brian Dawkins in 2002 to record both a touchdown and an interception in the same game.

Now, Jaguars fans are hopeful that this could be the beginning of something even greater for their promising second-year player.