What kind of impact could Travis Hunter have on both sides of the ball during his rookie season with the Jacksonville Jaguars? If you ask his coach, an historic one.
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Appearing on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Monday, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said he believed that Hunter, who was selected No. 2 overall in April’s NFL draft, can win both NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year as a cornerback and wide receiver.
“I do think it’s possible,” Coen said. “He is committed to driving, not just himself, but his teammates as well. I think his teammates, these guys are challenging him every single day. He doesn’t get a free pass because he was the second overall pick and he’s Travis Hunter.
“They are in his grill trying to jam him up, trying to hem him up, trying to make it as hard as they can possibly make it for him in a great way, like in the most healthy way as possible where they’re going at it and chirping at each other. But it’s truly iron sharping iron. That’s what it feels like and I wouldn’t expect anything less from those guys. They think he can do it as well, but they’re going to make him earn it as well in this building.”
Two-way players in the NFL have made impacts on the game — see: Deion Sanders — but none of them have ever done what Coen says is possible for Hunter this season.
There is a little over a month until the Jaguars host the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, and Coen and his staff are still working out the percentage of snaps Hunter will take on offense and defense to start the season.
“We want to play him as much as we can,” Coen said.
Last season, Hunter played 753 offensive snaps and 776 defensive snaps, along with 23 more on special teams with Colorado, according to Pro Football Focus. Despite the extra usage, Hunter was productive with 92 receptions, 1,152 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns on offense and 29 total tackles and four interceptions on defense. His play earned him the Heisman Award in December.
Hunter said at the start of camp that playing both sides is more taxing mentally than physically. He’ll now need to be ready to deal with NFL cornerbacks and wide receivers, like Panthers wideout Jaycee Horn come Sept. 7, who won’t make life easy for the rookie.
“[Horn’s] not going to be like, ‘Hey, man, this is cool what you’re doing.’ They’re going to say, ‘No, dude, you can’t do this’ and that’s the beauty of it,” Coen said. “I think [Hunter’s] definitely driven to do it for the right reasons.”
