Answering eight big questions about NFL sophomores...

playJordan Rodgers: Raiders must be patient with Mendoza (1:09)Jordan Rodgers explains why the Raiders must develop Fernando Mendoza to set up long-term success. (1:09) 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? 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." Last season, Hunter had more "two-way" usage than any player we'd seen in a long time. But as Gladstone alludes to, that usage was certainly not balanced. Here's his weekly snap count before he missed the final seven games of the season after tearing his LCL in practice. Of the 459 total snaps, 66% were at wide receiver. The most reasonable expectation is that the snap counts flip, with Hunter playing two defensive snaps for each of his offensive snaps. Newsome played 100% of the defensive snaps in just one of his games with the Jaguars, as a deep rotation, including Brown, Jarrian Jones and Jourdan Lewis, allowed Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile to pick his matchups and keep legs fresh. If Hunter slides into that Newsome role, he won't have to play every defensive snap on top of his offensive appearances. And how many of those offensive snaps would he have? During his evaluation of the roster, Gladstone didn't discuss Jacksonville's sudden strength at receiver. Last season's breakout Parker Washington and midseason trade acquisition Jakobi Meyers both stepped up in Hunter's absence (and during Brian Thomas Jr.'s disappearing act). The Jaguars did not trade Thomas this offseason, and they have a logjam of playable receivers above Hunter. And with the statement selection of Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkircher, it's fair to expect the Jaguars to play more two-tight-end sets, which will lower the total snap counts of the receiver room. Last year, the Jaguars' fourth wide receiver (typically Washington or Tim Patrick) averaged 26.7% of a game's snaps. In a game of about 65 or 70 plays, that's around 18 snaps. Will the Jaguars feel satisfied giving him only 18 snaps per game? I lean no. As Gladstone said, an uptick in corner snaps doesn't necessarily predict a downtick in receiver snaps. That brings us to the second part of the question: Is this sort of ratio ideal for Hunter? Is full-time defense with an expanding and contracting role on offense optimal? I think so. My expectation for Hunter has always been that he'll be a full-time corner. I'm very bullish on his future there. He has the body type and movement skills of a cornerback -- lean, sudden, amazing balance and body control through change of direction and contact. The even better news: His technique a

Answering eight big questions about NFL sophomores...

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