Travis Hunter's first NFL interception was worth keeping. Getting the ball back turned into a scene.
The Jaguars cornerback made a leaping catch on a pass intended for Patriots receiver Efton Chism III, and the takeaway helped Jacksonville beat New England on Sunday. Then came the squabble. Yahoo Sports reported that a staffer refused to hand the ball to Jaguars edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen, telling him, "You can't touch me." Jacksonville ended up retrieving the football anyway.
Hunter's résumé arrived ahead of him: the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, the second overall draft pick out of Colorado. A leaping interception in coverage is the play the Jaguars drafted him for, and it's the kind of rep that turns a celebrated college athlete into an NFL cornerback one Sunday at a time.
The Patriots supplied the opportunity. Drake Maye finished 14-of-25 for 199 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and a 19.9 QBR. New England's most productive receiver was Mack Hollins, six catches for 87 yards. Chism III, the target on Hunter's pick, was held to one catch for one yard on two targets.
That stat line is the story underneath the sideshow. Jacksonville didn't need Hunter to be a novelty. It needed him to erase a receiver, and on one throw he did it in the most visible way a corner can.
The ball drama is the part that will get replayed, though, because it says something about how the locker room sees him. Hines-Allen wanted the keepsake badly enough to press a staffer for it. Teammates don't fight over souvenirs from a corner they consider ordinary.
My read: the football belongs in a case, not in a tug-of-war, and the Jaguars were right to make sure it landed with Hunter. More to the point, this won't be his last one. Jacksonville's defense is built to put him on an island, and quarterbacks who test that island at this rate will keep handing him mementos.
