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The Jacksonville Jaguars didn't trade up for Travis Hunter to have him line up only one side of the football. The plan is to have him play both cornerback and wide receiver.
"You can count however many drafts you want to [and] 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 itself," James Gladstone said after making the pick, via ESPN.
But how exactly are the Jaguars going to go about making sure that Hunter is ready to play NFL snaps at two different positions and on opposite sides of the ball?
It's not only the physical toll that can have on his body over the course of a season, but from a preparation standpoint, it's not as if he can be in the wide receiver and cornerback meetings at the same time. While in practice, he can only work with the starters on one side of the ball at a time.
"We've had those conversations, and we have to be fluid," Coen said, via Colorado on SI. "From a scheduling standpoint, we have it all laid out, but we also have to have the ability to be agile and be fluid on specific days. If we feel like he didn't get enough work on one side of the ball the previous day, then we need to be able to move forward and get him those reps the next day."
During this onboarding portion, as Hunter joins the team for offseason programs, Gladstone did mention that the bulk of his time early on will be spent on the offensive side of the ball as he gets acclimated, since cornerback is his more natural position.
Hunter was an uber-efficient pass-catcher in the Colorado offense last season, catching 79% of his hefty 121 targets, while averaging over 13 yards per catch.
On defense, quarterbacks didn't throw his way all that often, with Hunter being targeted just 41 times. However, when he was thrown at, Hunter surrendered a completion rate of just 56% and had very good ball production with four interceptions and seven pass breakups, according to PFF.
With the reports leading up to the draft being that the Jaguars wanted to add to the offensive side of the ball, I could see a scenario where that is where the bulk of Hunter's playing time comes, while on defense, he is on the field at cornerback on third downs or other long down-and-distances, where his ball skills can be on display and maximized. This would also reduce some wear-and-tear as well, with Hunter not on the field often during running downs.
That, of course, is just a guess at this time. The Jaguars have a plan in place for how they will manage Hunter's workload, but as Coen mentioned, they'll be adaptable and quick to adjust if that's what's needed as they dive deeper into the process.
"First and foremost, the competitor," Coen said of what stands out about Hunter, via Sports Illustrated. "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.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars' Coen, Gladstone on Travis Hunter playing both ways
Continue reading...
"You can count however many drafts you want to [and] 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 itself," James Gladstone said after making the pick, via ESPN.
But how exactly are the Jaguars going to go about making sure that Hunter is ready to play NFL snaps at two different positions and on opposite sides of the ball?
It's not only the physical toll that can have on his body over the course of a season, but from a preparation standpoint, it's not as if he can be in the wide receiver and cornerback meetings at the same time. While in practice, he can only work with the starters on one side of the ball at a time.
"We've had those conversations, and we have to be fluid," Coen said, via Colorado on SI. "From a scheduling standpoint, we have it all laid out, but we also have to have the ability to be agile and be fluid on specific days. If we feel like he didn't get enough work on one side of the ball the previous day, then we need to be able to move forward and get him those reps the next day."
During this onboarding portion, as Hunter joins the team for offseason programs, Gladstone did mention that the bulk of his time early on will be spent on the offensive side of the ball as he gets acclimated, since cornerback is his more natural position.
Hunter was an uber-efficient pass-catcher in the Colorado offense last season, catching 79% of his hefty 121 targets, while averaging over 13 yards per catch.
On defense, quarterbacks didn't throw his way all that often, with Hunter being targeted just 41 times. However, when he was thrown at, Hunter surrendered a completion rate of just 56% and had very good ball production with four interceptions and seven pass breakups, according to PFF.
With the reports leading up to the draft being that the Jaguars wanted to add to the offensive side of the ball, I could see a scenario where that is where the bulk of Hunter's playing time comes, while on defense, he is on the field at cornerback on third downs or other long down-and-distances, where his ball skills can be on display and maximized. This would also reduce some wear-and-tear as well, with Hunter not on the field often during running downs.
That, of course, is just a guess at this time. The Jaguars have a plan in place for how they will manage Hunter's workload, but as Coen mentioned, they'll be adaptable and quick to adjust if that's what's needed as they dive deeper into the process.
"First and foremost, the competitor," Coen said of what stands out about Hunter, via Sports Illustrated. "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.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars' Coen, Gladstone on Travis Hunter playing both ways
Continue reading...
