The Jacksonville Jaguars shockingly traded up to the No. 2 pick to draft Colorado cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter, the most intriguing prospect in this year's draft class. Hunter successfully played at two positions during his collegiate career, and is looking to do the same in the NFL.
No player has successfully played consistently on offense and defense since former Philadelphia Eagles center and linebacker Chuck Bednarik retired after the 1962 season, but Hunter is set on playing two ways. What makes Hunter unique is he is incredible at both positions—so good that there is no consensus of where he should primarily play as a pro. Some teams saw him as a cornerback, while others viewed him as a receiver first.
The Jaguars do intend to use Hunter at both positions, and spoke both about Hunter and their plan to utilize him on offense and defense after taking him No. 2 in the draft.
Jaguars general manager James Gladstone emphasized how special a player and person Hunter is after taking him.
"Travis, in fact, as a player is rare," Gladstone told reporters on Thursday. "As a person, he's also rare. When we say that the idea of inviting people into our ecosystem, who by being nothing more than who they are, elevate the space … that's the epitome of what Travis is. We're not going to ask him to be any more than him because by doing so, he elevates not only this football team, not only this city, but the sport itself."
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Gladstone added, "There are players who have the capacity to alter a game. There are players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of a team. There are very few players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of the sport. Travis, while he has a lot to still earn, in our eyes has the potential to do just that."
Jaguars head coach Liam Coen similarly shared high praise for Hunter, and dove into what makes Hunter so great at each side of the ball.
"First and foremost, the competitor," Coen said of what stands out about Hunter. "Just the player in general, the snaps that he takes, the preparation, the accountability, the way that he's in the building at 5 a.m. training his body. ... On both sides of the ball, he impacts the gams. He has a great feel for the game itself. When he's on the offensive side of the ball, finding zones in the defense. He's got really good ball skills. He can do something with it after the catch.
"Then on the defensive side of the ball, he finds it, and that's ultimately what we're trying to do here is continue to find people that can help us get our hands on the ball on the defensive side and go impact the game in that way," Coen continued.
To trade multiple draft picks—including two first-rounders—a team should be enamored with the player they are moving up for. The Jaguars organization absolutely demonstrated their belief of why Hunter merits such a move with how they spoke of their newest addition.
"He's somebody who is deserving of a first-round draft pick as a wide receiver, and he is worthy of a first-round draft pick as a corner," Gladstone said. "Certainly look forward to each of those elements showing themselves over the next few years while he's under his rookie contract. But yeah, we're excited about just getting him in the boat, so to speak."
“He’s truly a unique player,” executive vice president of football operations Tony Boselli said of Hunter, via The Athletic's Michael Silver. “In our mind, we got two second overall picks this year.”
“We’d watched his tape and repeatedly said, ‘Wow—can you believe this guy?’” Boselli said, via Silver.
Gladstone and Coen additionally laid out a plan for how they're going to approach using Hunter at two positions. They noted that Hunter will primarily start out on offense, but that he will also practice on defense and learn the defensive scheme during the process.
"We look forward to onboarding Travis, and really, for the start, our plan there is to have a heavier dose of offense early in the down, knowing that the more natural position is that on defense for him," Gladstone said.
"We do have to be fluid throughout," Coen said. “We'll have a plan right now of primarily on offense with learning the defensive system and practicing on the defensive side of the ball as well throughout this offseason program. We have to be fluid throughout this whole process. We've had multiple conversations at length with athletic training, equipment, sports science, coaching—everybody involved—about this process and what it's going to look like moving forward. We have a plan in place and that's where we'll start."
Coen has stressed through the draft process that they need to be "fluid" in working with Hunter, from having the whole staff aligned and figuring out how to best use him at each position.
“I think you have to be fluid as an organization with the signing of a Travis Hunter," Coen told Brent Martineau on the Brent & Austen Show at the NFL's annual league meetings earlier this spring. “Because of his diversity, what he can do, the amount of snaps he plays. He's going to play both sides of the ball and that has to be an organizational buy-in from the coaches, the strength staff, the athletic training, sports performance, everybody has to be involved, as well as the coaches, right?
“And having patience with each side of ball, because you really don't want to kind of put him in a box. You really just want to, ‘Hey, what does he come in and do the best?’ You're going to be able to let him do both, so you're going to find out what he's best at and then, ‘Hey, let's mold things to that and be fluid for those conversations.’”
As for Hunter, he was ecstatic upon getting drafted by the Jaguars, even dancing his way to the draft stage. Though he said he didn't have any conversations with the Jaguars since the NFL combine back in February, Hunter gets to return to his home state and Florida and play on both sides of the football.
“They told me they was going to let me do what I do," Hunter said on ESPN. "They put me on the phone with both coordinators.”
Hunter goes to a team that has a plan to use him both ways and is thrilled to bring him in. Now, it's time for the superstar to do the unprecedented, just like he has throughout his life.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Everything the Jaguars Have Said About Plan for Two-Way Star Travis Hunter .
