There is no guarantee Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter will be great in the NFL, and it’s no fault of his own, really.
The flailing franchise he was drafted into — the Jacksonville Jaguars — has a lot to prove in its latest iteration. Primarily: Can it allow great prospects to become great NFL players and maximize their full potential?
They’ve largely failed in that department before.
Say what you will of Trevor Lawrence and his durability, but Jacksonville’s previous front office and coaching staffs left the Jaguars’ QB1 without a safety net. His supporting cast was not a loaded lineup of difference-makers, on that we should all agree, even in instances when the franchise tried to overspend to fill weaknesses.
That’s about to change, with a front office and head coach in place finally fully committed to letting greatness happen.
Liam Coen’s track record is light, sure, but take a peek at last year’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense for an indicator of what he can do with a quarterback many viewed as something less than great. Baker Mayfield had the Buccaneers humming by the second half of the season, and he was a big reason why. That, and Coen was heavily creative in finding new and inventive ways to get the ball to his playmakers.
To be sure, Hunter is one of them now.
He’ll be a co-No. 1 wide receiver option to last year’s rookie phenom Brian Thomas Jr., and give the Jaguars their best outside playmakers since Mark Brunell was the southpaw slinging the skin to Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell.
Hunter can play the slot, but he’s every bit a game-breaking threat as Jacksonville has had. He might not be ready to take Tyreek Hill or DK Metcalf in a straight-line sprint. But he’s versatile and quick, could be a dynamic underneath option and thrive in the slot, and we’re not envisioning a lot of cornerbacks capable of locking him out on the perimeter.
Whether his impact can be measured in a tangible way on defense is the part we doubt. Perhaps moonlighting at defensive back is a plan the Jaguars will choose to follow to appease the fan base and keep Hunter smiling, but 100 snaps at Colorado playing the likes of Kansas and Texas Tech is not an oranges-to-oranges comparison to tackling double duty against, say, Patrick Surtain and the Broncos or Derek Stingley Jr. and the Texans.
This is where the front office and coaching staff must intervene and allow Hunter to be great — first, at one position — as a natural wide receiver with Jerry Rice’s hands and Deion Sanders’ feet. If he hits an elite level earlier than expected, the decision to protect him from doing more — as a cornerback — is on the shoulders of Coen and James Gladstone. Overthinking it, or trying to apply the logic of getting their playmaker on the field even more as a defensive difference-maker, would not be a risk worth taking.
On draft night, with Gladstone smiling at the stealthy execution of his deal to move up and acquire Hunter, he beamed with parental-level pride over the group of prospects the team had landed — with Hunter right at the top. Just his mere presence, his energy, his explosive potential, would make the Jaguars great.
All of this can be true. Hunter will be great — if the Jaguars will simply allow it.
