Every week we try to take a look at rookie phenom Travis Hunter’s game production and make sense of what we saw play out on the field.
So far, each game has been a mixed bag, where Hunter sometimes plays a ton, plays just on one side or plays not much at all. The Travis Hunter Experiment™ has been anything but easy to understand. Sunday’s lifeless 35-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams didn’t do much to help provide clarity towards the future.
With the Jags playing behind much of the day, Hunter was mainly
used as the team’s number one offensive weapon. Drops and the now seemingly standard miscues plagued Jacksonville all game, but it was Hunter who tried his best to step up.
The rookie receiver played a career-high 67 (sigh) snaps on offense which led him to a team-high eight catches on 14 targets. Both numbers set new career benchmarks. He eclipsed 100 yards for the first time in his career, ending with 101 yards. He also scored his first career touchdown. His lone score was almost inarguably Jacksonville’s sole offensive highlight in London.
“I just told coach to get me the ball [and] I’ll go there and make a play,” Hunter said Sunday. “And he got me the ball and I just did what I had to do.”
Comparing Hunter’s output in London to his output against the Seahawks, he certainly had a much better day producing offensively. While playing 58 snaps at home in his team’s 20-12 loss, he caught just four balls for 15 yards.
Each week, the coaching staff has increased Hunter’s offensive workload. In Week 4, Hunter played about 57% of offensive snaps. That number has risen every week, rising to almost 87% Sunday.
“There definitely was a plan going into the game that we wanted to utilize him more on the offensive side of the ball,” Coen said Sunday, “specifically trying to get the ball into his hands. The first half was just kind of funky, the way we couldn’t get anybody the ball consistently and get into a rhythm.”
Coen said before the Rams game he wanted to make Hunter an offensive priority heading into London, and his team delivered on that. Whether that was by nature of Brian Thomas Jr. forgetting how to catch or gameplan, Hunter was the beneficiary of a big offensive day. Unfortunately for him, it was marred by the team’s overall performance.
At this point in the year, Hunter is the team’s second leading receiver with 298 yards. He sits 67 (SIGH) yards behind Thomas Jr. and 91 yards ahead of Parker Washington. Hunter actually has one more catch than BTJ on 10 fewer targets. The two have the same number of receiving touchdowns with one.
When looking at Hunter as strictly a receiver, his numbers are starting to make more sense. He is clearly a high-level receiver at this level – see his catch against Kansas City – and the offense wants to get him involved. The offense may be broken as a whole but Hunter is doing his part, outside of penalties, to fix it. He sits at about six targets per game. This is the production you want from your first round receiver.
But you can’t look at Hunter as just a receiver.
Hunter as a cornerback has now become the subject of scrutiny, as his DB numbers are falling by the wayside. He was pulled from defense in the second half when the team went to San Francisco, and his snap counts have dwindled since.
Against the Seahawks, Hunter played just 22 snaps on defense with two tackles. Against the Rams, that number dropped to just 14 with no tackles and a PBU.
So what is happening?
Using Sunday as a standalone game, you could make the argument that the coaches wanted Hunter to save his energy for big plays down the field on offense. And that played out to a degree.
However, the Jags defensive backs of Montaric Brown, Jourdan Lewis and Greg Newsome were food for Davonte Adams, who caught a trio of touchdowns. Could Hunter not have helped there?
Hunter’s lone defensive highlight was actually against the future Hall of Famer, where he swatted a ball out of Adams’ grasp. The defensive line got home but Matthew Stafford laid the ball just about where it needed to go, except for Hunter being right there to get in between Adams’ hands. Brown, nor Lewis, nor Newsome were able to do much of that for any of the day.
The path forward seems simple for Hunter: play him full-time on both ends.
That idea is easier said than executed, but at this point, what do the Jags stand to lose? They allowed Jaxon Smith-Njigba to go for 162 yards and a score. Adams finished with three touchdowns. Remember when Ja’Marr Chase had 165 and a spike?
By and large, the Jags corners are not winning against top-level NFL talent. That’s not much of a surprise given that Lewis is a traditional nickel and Brown is a rotational player. So why not utilize the former Heisman Trophy winner to help your defense?
Hunter’s offensive numbers are starting to make sense. His defensive ones are not. The Jags are on a bye this week before traveling to the lowly Las Vegas Raiders for Week 9. At that point, Hunter should be a full-time starter on both ends. What do the Jags have to lose except more games?
