NFL insider sets expectation for Travis Hunter, how much he'll play offense, defense

by: Nick Kosko 53 minutes ago nickkosko59

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler set some expectations for Travis Hunter and his ability to play both ways as a rookie for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars intend to play him at wide receiver and cornerback, like he did in college, right away.

How much he plays on both sides remains to be seen, but the general consensus is Hunter will play offense a little bit more than defense. The snap count total likely won’t be what it was in college, but Hunter will see the field a lot.

The Jaguars will be smart, per Fowler. They want to manage their star rookie at No. 2 overall pick the right way to make sure he plays at the highest level.

“Well, they’re trying to temper expectations a little bit, or at least I will, because when people think going both sides, they think he’s going to play 110-120 snaps. That’s just not going to happen. It’s not realistic in the NFL. But asking some other teams about what’s a good model for Hunter, they say maybe play 40 snaps on offense, 30 snaps on defense, or 45-25 … but it’s not going to be an insane amount of snaps. But they do believe … people who spent time with Hunter at Colorado, they believe he’s that kind of special, not only player, but personality, where he can handle it, if anybody can. He’s really well conditioned.

“The problem is, you put him out at cornerback and you play him a lot, he’s already playing offense, then they’re gonna have Derrick Henry, those big running guys coming right at you. You’re gonna have to tackle, that questions your durability a little bit. So those are some things he has to answer early.”

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