The Jaguars kick off their 2025 mini-camp with high hopes for Trevor Lawrence and a big mystery surrounding how they'll use two-way rookie Travis Hunter.
StatPro NFL Beat Reporter
The Jacksonville Jaguars officially kicked off their mandatory mini-camp on Tuesday, and the feeling around the facility is electric. With new head coach Liam Coen and GM James Gladstone setting the tone, a fresh wave of optimism has swept through Duval. All eyes are on the progress of quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the new system and the team's biggest enigma, two-way rookie sensation Travis Hunter, as the Jaguars begin to lay the foundation for a 2025 playoff run.
Logan Cooke's net punting average of 44.8 yards in 2024 was the highest since the NFL began tracking the stat in 1976.
The biggest question on every fan's mind is how the Jaguars will deploy their second overall pick, Travis Hunter. The former Colorado star was a phenomenon in college, excelling at both wide receiver and cornerback. Now, the coaching staff faces the exciting challenge of translating that unprecedented versatility to the NFL. While the team plans to use him on both sides of the ball, the exact snap distribution remains a mystery. Mini-camp will serve as the first laboratory for Coen and his staff to experiment with lineups and see just how disruptive the rookie can be.
On the other side of the ball, the defense is getting lighter to get faster. Edge rushers Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen are both focusing on playing at a lower weight this season, aiming to boost their stamina and maintain pressure deep into games. For Walker, it's about building on back-to-back 10+ sack seasons and becoming the first Jaguar in history to achieve that feat three years in a row. With veterans Dawuane Smoot and Emmanuel Ogbah added to the rotation, the Jags' pass rush is looking deep, dangerous, and ready to hunt.
While the flashiest moves happen on offense and defense, GM James Gladstone made one of the smartest moves of the offseason by securing a key weapon. The team signed Pro Bowl punter Logan Cooke to a four-year extension, locking down a critical component of their field position strategy. Cooke isn't just good; he's historically great. In 2024, he led the NFL with a 49.4-yard gross average and a staggering 44.8-yard net average. Giving Trevor Lawrence and the offense a longer field to work with is an underrated but vital part of winning, and the Jags now have the best in the business for the foreseeable future.
The start of mini-camp marks the end of ten organized team activities (OTAs), where the team got its first taste of Liam Coen's new system. By all accounts, the transition has been seamless. Reports from OTAs were overwhelmingly positive, particularly regarding Trevor Lawrence, who is said to be making major strides and showing impressive command of the new offense. Building that chemistry between quarterback, coach, and new weapons like Travis Hunter is the primary goal of this camp, setting the stage for what fans hope will be an explosive season.
With OTAs in the rearview and mandatory mini-camp officially underway, the pieces for the 2025 season are falling into place. The energy from the new regime is palpable, but questions remain. How will the Travis Hunter experiment unfold? Can a leaner pass rush lead the defense to elite status? And just how high is the ceiling for Trevor Lawrence in Liam Coen's offense? The answers will start to reveal themselves as we inch closer to training camp, but one thing is clear on June 10th: the optimism in Duval is real, and the Jaguars are building something special.
