Long-time NFL analyst and film guru Greg Cosell isn’t going to say that the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Travis Hunter can’t be successful playing both sides of the ball at the NFL level, but he does have his doubts.
As Cosell recently explained on an appearance on the Ross Tucker Podcast, Hunter, just on the offensive side of the ball under Liam Coen, has a robust playbook to learn.
“Liam Coen’s offense, assuming he’s a wide receiver first, which apparently he is, there is a ton of motion, there’s a ton of formations, he’s got to learn all of that. So, again, he may be that special guy that we’ve never seen before. I’m not going to sit here and say he can’t do it, but there is so much detail in that offense that he has to learn. He can’t sit in two meetings at the same time.”
During OTAs and minicamp, the bulk of Hunter’s on-field practice time came at the wide receiver position. GM James Gladstone mentioned that the reason for this was that the team views cornerback as Hunter’s more natural position, but to Cosell’s point, how expansive the Coen offense is probably played a factor as well.
Like Trevor Lawrence described during minicamp, this offense gives you all the answers, but it also puts a lot on the players ‘ plates.
“I really like it,” Lawrence said of Coen’s offense. “It has a lot of answers. It’s great. It puts a lot on the players, you have to know your stuff, but it gives you all the answers.”
The next step for Hunter in his progression is playing both sides of the ball in the same practice. During offseason programs, for the most part, he practiced on only one side of the ball on a given day. This will change, however, once training camp arrives.
As far as what Hunter’s playing time on offense and defense will look like in games, Tony Khan said recently that the week-to-week game flow will play a key role in determining that.
“He loves football,” Coen said. “He loves to compete. You feel his energy out on the grass. His endurance out on the grass is just non-stop. He definitely brings a little bit of that youthful energy to our team, to our offense and defense. He’s made some really good plays, and he’s continuing to have to learn as he goes.”
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Long-time NFL analyst skeptical of Jaguars’ Travis Hunter playing both ways
Reporting by Paul Bretl, Jaguars Wire / Jaguars Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
