On Thursday, Jacksonville Jaguars made a bold trade to take wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter at No. 2 overall. Now, the Jaguars are committed to letting the two-way player make an impact on both sides of the ball.
In an interview on the NFL Draft broadcast on Saturday, Jacksonville general manager James Gladstone said that the team plans for Hunter to play both offense and defense. But he said that there will be a preseason process to get him to that point, with the rookie starting on offense first and adding defense by the start of the regular season.
“His intent is on playing both sides of the ball, as is ours,” Gladstone told ESPN. “When it comes to his onboarding process we’ll give him a heavy dose of offense, and sprinkle in the defensive side of the ball, knowing that by the time we get to the regular season, those should be balanced out. But that’s the initial onboarding plan as it stands today.”
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Gladstone is in his first season as general manager of the Jaguars, giving him plenty of new obstacles as he navigates his first offseason. But more importantly, it’s his first time working with a player like Hunter. “This is uncharted territory,” Gladstone admitted of the two-way player.
Hunter’s talent on both ends was an attractive aspect for the Jaguars. Gladstone called Hunter “a rare talent in the game of football, but also a rare person,” noting Hunter’s impressive understanding of the game despite his young age.
“The on-field talent speaks for itself,” Gladstone said on ESPN. “The idea that he has the capacity to play on both sides of the ball is certainly unique. But when you get a chance to understand who he is as a person … He’s got a joyful personality, but when he talks, there are some things that hit you in a way that are jaw-dropping.”
As a result, Gladstone made it clear that Hunter was worth the trade, especially as he tries to make Jacksonville into a team that wasn’t afraid to take risks: “When there’s an opportunity to be bold, we won’t flinch,” he said.
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While Hunter’s ability to play both sides is definitely, in Gladstone’s words, “unique,” he will not be the first player to balance offense and defense in the NFL. Deion Sanders, Hunter’s coach at Colorado, famously played offense, defense and special teams during his pro career. Other players, including former New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman, have also played snaps on both sides of the ball.
Thought Hunter plays both receiver and cornerback fluidly, he tends to be listed as a cornerback first. Still, Jacksonville’s decision to incorporate him into the offense first might have more to do with team needs: The Jaguars have significantly more players in the secondary on the roster than receivers at this point in the offseason.
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