When the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to select Travis Hunter with the second overall pick in April, they expected that he’d be a long-term franchise building block to star on both sides of the ball for years to come. From the limited tape he’s put out across his first four NFL games, his talent is evident, but the gaudy numbers aren’t quite there yet: 13 catches for 118 yards on offense and 11 total tackles on defense. His breakout game still awaits.
Jaguars fans are surely hoping that it comes tonight on a Monday Night Football clash against the three-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs, who have climbed out of an 0-2 hole to even their record and are starting to look like a contender in a conference that is wide open behind the Buffalo Bills. Jacksonville, meanwhile, is 3-1 after making the most of a soft early schedule and can tie the Indianapolis Colts atop the division with a win.
The Jaguars are 3.5-point underdogs at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the point total set to 45.5. Below, I’ve detailed my favorite prop bets centered around North Florida’s two-way star.
Best Travis Hunter Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Travis Hunter 15+ 1st Half Receiving Yards (+110)
Hunter’s breakout may not come in this game. Despite an up-and-down season overall for the Chiefs, Kansas City’s secondary has been solid this season, allowing the second-fewest receiving yards and the second-fewest touchdowns so far on the ninth-lowest net yards per attempt. Plus, because the Chiefs’ offense has been so good at dictating the flow of the game, opponents have run the third-fewest total plays against them. They’ve allowed just a 71.5 passer rating in the first half, conceding only 380 total passing yards in those 120 minutes.
Regardless, there are some things working in Hunter’s favor. First is his specific matchup: since he’s primarily lined up in the slot, he’ll have fewer snaps against Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, who both rank in the league’s top quartile in coverage, and more against Chamarri Conner, whose struggles in coverage since late last season have carried over into 2025. This season, Conner has allowed completions on 10 of the 11 targets he’s faced and missed six tackles already, the 39th-worst rate among 416 qualified defenders, and Hunter has averaged 0.5 more yards after the catch than expected. More critically, 13 of his 21 targets, nine of his 13 catches, and 82 of his 118 yards have come before the intermission, including his career-long 28-yard catch in Week 4.
Travis Hunter Longest Reception O15.5 Yards (-110)
This one’s also tricky, because Kansas City has allowed the fourth-fewest 20-plus-yard catches this season, and while Hunter certainly has deep-threat ability, his average target has come just 7.9 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, a league-average rate. As a team, the Chiefs’ average depth of target is also 7.9 yards, although that’s actually the 10th-deepest in the league, and Conner’s is significantly shorter: just 3.4 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. If Hunter wants to record a 16-plus-yard catch for the third straight game, much of that damage will have to come after the catch, which is where Conner’s weaknesses as a tackler come in.
Liam Coen’s offensive scheme should help with that. Many of Hunter’s throws have come in space, as he’s averaged 7.5 yards of cushion at the line of scrimmage and 3.1 yards of separation at the time of the catch, both of which are among the better marks in football. Several of his routes in the Week 4 win over the San Francisco 49ers were designed to get him the ball in the open field, including short outs and wheel routes. From there, it’s easy to see how his speed and tackle-breaking ability could result in a 16-yard catch and run.
