The Jacksonville Jaguars treated rookie Travis Hunter like a wide receiver first and foremost, and a part-time defender, in the team’s 26-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in the NFL’s Week 1.
Putting two and two together, the Sporting News’ Dan Treacy projects Hunter’s role moving forward to be a WR2 and occasional defensive back. Treacy graded Hunter’s debut as a “C.” Hunter had eight targets, six catches, 33 yards, and one tackle.
“Travis Hunter led the Jaguars in targets in their rain-interrupted win over the Panthers and played six defensive snaps, but he didn't set the world on fire in his NFL debut. Hunter hauled in six catches for 33 yards, doing some work on short passes but lagging behind from an efficiency standpoint. Hunter assisted on one tackle defensively and allowed a catch to Tetairoa McMillan on his first defensive snap. As Hunter settles in, it's clear he will be a major fixture of the Jaguars' offense between some occasional defensive work,” Treacy wrote.
Of Hunter’s 50 snaps, 44 of them came on the offensive side of the ball. That’s an undeniable trend, but it may not be the final answer for Liam Coen regarding his two-way reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams listed reasons why the Jags may move in the opposite direction and deploy Hunter more defensively as the season goes on.
“The Jaguars expect Hunter’s defensive plays to increase as the season goes on,” Williams wrote.
“He missed 10 days late in the preseason with an upper body injury, and the Jaguars installed some unique coverage schemes for the Panthers in those practices, coach Liam Coen said.”
Like Shedeur Sanders, Hunter will take a while to develop into the player he was on the Colorado Buffaloes. If he ever looks like that.
Unlike the Cleveland Browns with Sanders, though, the Jaguars are paying him to one day develop into a gamebreaker. They already paid a major trade price to land him on draft night.
We’ll see if Jacksonville allows him to be that on both sides of the ball. Deion Sanders warned the NFL of this very problem before, and the Jaguars might not have listened.