In May, Colorado coach Deion Sanders expressed disappointment that he had not heard from the Jaguars on how to coach and set cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter. Two games into Hunter’s second NFL season, Coach Prime remains baffled by Hunter’s workload.
“I don’t ask questions because I’m not there,” Sanders said recently on his CBS Colorado show. “I don’t know what happens when we’re not looking. I have no idea what is going on. I know who he was and who he is now. I know what he is capable of. I know that.”
In Week 1, Hunter had four tackles on offense and 29 on defense. He had one catch for eight yards.
In week two, Hunter had six tackles on offense and 37 on defense. He was not targeted on Jacksonville’s passing game.
The lack of use for a player who entered the league with the promise of being the first true full-time two-way player since Chuck Bednarik has raised many questions. Earlier this week, coach Liam Coen said that the team will be looking for giving him more reps this week, on both sides of the ball.
Asked Friday if Hunter has talked to the coaches about the rotation at cornerback this week, Hunter opted for caution.
“I’ll leave it up to the coaches to answer,” Hunter said. “It is not for me to answer.
In an appearance in Pivot podcast before the start of the regular season, Hunter reiterated his belief that he can reach his full potential as a cornerback and receiver.
Ryan Clark told Hunter that he could be one Hall of Fame cornerback or Pro Bowl caliber receiver. But Clark’s implicit message was clear – it’s impossible to be both. How can Hunter achieve it?
“Work ethic,” Hunter said. “We all have the same 24 hours.”
Channing Crowder pushed Hunter in his quest to use those 24 hours to do both at the highest possible level. “The numbers don’t work,” Crowder said.
“If I’m trying to be the best – how are you going to be the best if you’re not trying to be the best? If you’re not trying to compete and do your best to be the best? So my main focus is to be the best. So I’m going to do everything I can to be the best. I don’t want to be the best in a position of the best. the best of both, in time complete.”
For now, Hunter has played part-time on defense, with brief appearances on offense. What is his preference?
“I like to do both,” Hunter said. “And I can’t sit on the sideline. I don’t think anybody’s noticed that yet. I hate the sidelines. I don’t want to sit there. I can’t sit there and watch football. I’ve got to be on the field.”
Clark pointed out that 52 other guys spend time on the field. “That’s their problem,” Hunter said.
He was smiling when he said this, but it doesn’t escape him. Hunter still wants to play full-time on both sides of the ball. But he’s playing so little on either side of the ball that the snaps don’t add up to the amount of time he would get if he played all snaps on offense or all snaps on defense.
It’s still unclear what the Jaguars are doing with the player they moved up from No. 5 to No. 2 in the draft under the pretense of getting two players in one. At some point, the idea of a two-way player has succumbed to the reality that, as Crowder said, the numbers don’t work. It is very difficult to be fully and completely prepared to perform at a high level both offensively and defensively.
And it’s almost as if the Jaguars want Hunter to come to the conclusion on his own that he’ll agree to play on one side of the ball or the other in order to have a full-time workload at a specific position.
Still, if the Jaguars weren’t prepared to let Hunter do what he clearly wanted (and he certainly made his point clear to them before the draft), why did they give up so much to make him the second overall pick in the draft?
This is the most confusing aspect of this. Everyone knew Hunter wanted to play it both ways. The decision to trade up for Hunter sent a message that the Jaguars were on board with that approach. The numbers, to date, present a very different picture.
