Many outside of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ organization question the team’s usage of Travis Hunter, specifically, continuing to play him on both sides of the ball. Internally, however, Hunter’s teammates feel differently.
On a recent appearance on the ‘Rich Eisen Show,’ running back Travis Etienne shared his thoughts on Hunter playing both ways.
“Ultimately, it’s his decision, and I feel like he thinks he be doing himself a disservice if he choose one side of the ball,” Etienne said. “He’s a very great athlete. He been doing it well at a high level, and it’s the NFL, it is going to be an adjustment. It is going to be a learning curve.
“But I feel like if he sticks to it and continues to be himself, I feel like everyone going to be talking about, ‘oh how great he is,’ and ‘oh how they want more players to do this.’ I feel like he just the first of his kind. That’s why everyone is just kind of heckling at him.”
My guess is that the catalyst behind all of the outside noise around Hunter has been the lack of splash plays on either offense or defense. So the thought that stems from that assessment is, why not have him focus on just one position?
But abandoning this grand plan that the Jaguars have for Hunter after only four games would be shortsighted. This is a new endeavor that Hunter and the Jaguars are embarking on, and time is required.
From the jump, the Jaguars have had a detailed plan in place for how they would acclimate Hunter at wide receiver and cornerback. While Jacksonville has been quick to adjust when needed, they’re also firm in sticking to the development plan, prioritizing the long-term impact from Hunter over any short-term gains.
Right now, the focus for Hunter is on playing the F-wide receiver position on offense, while the team seems to be figuring out where he fits defensively with Montaric Brown back in the mix.
More will be added to his plate as the season progresses.
“The way he attacks the ball, we need him on the field every play,” Etienne added.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars’ RB Travis Etienne weighs in on Travis Hunter playing offense and defense
Reporting by Paul Bretl, Jaguars Wire / Jaguars Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
