We are now three games into the Travis Hunter Experiment, trademark pending.
Anyone who has been along for this ride has seen the ups and downs just three games into the highly unusual job of getting the former
Heisman winner to play both sides of the football professionally. Sunday’s 17-10 win was yet another step into seeing it play out the way we all want, at least defensively.
Hunter played 43 defensive snaps to his 37 offensive snaps over the weekend, the second consecutive game where he has played more as a corner than as a receiver.
Starting with just the stats defensively, Hunter played fine. He was second among the defensive backs in tackles with a career-high six. But corners are paid to not accumulate stats, which Hunter did a decent job of against good receivers.
Below, you will see Hunter matched up one-on-one with former Jags receiver Christian Kirk. As Texans’ quarterback C.J. Stroud rolls out of the pocket and is looking Kirk’s way, Hunter is blanketing him against the sideline and helps force a Stroud scramble.
In this second clip, you see Hunter read a play in the backfield and come up to make a tackle on a running back. Long gone are the days where his size was a potential dealbreaker and he was getting his head pushed into the dirt in the preseason!
This last clip is maybe his best work, where he stays in the pocket of Nico Collins for Collins’ entire route. Collins has a couple inches and about 30 pounds on Hunter, but Hunter is able to keep Collins basically out of the play and helps force a field goal try. In a game decided by a touchdown, plays like this that don’t show up on the box score matter a lot.
Overall, there is a lot to be impressed with from Hunter in his third game. Corners aren’t supposed to earn big stats, unless it is something like pass breakups or picks. In coverage, while playing a lot of zone, Hunter allowed four catches for 48 yards.
So far, as a rotational player, Hunter hasn’t been asked to do much so his lack of production may seem like a lack of skill. Watching his clips from Sunday would show something entirely different.
There is a question to be asked about whether the Jags are recouping value from Hunter based on his draft slot and what they gave up to get him. But the dude has played in just three games.
Offensively, Hunter has left a lot to be desired.
In his first game, he caught six balls on eight targets. Both his catches and targets have gone down in the two ensuing games, including catching just one pass on Sunday.
To Hunter’s credit, his one catch for 21 yards was impressive but it just isn’t a lot of impact, especially coupled with the fact the rest of the pass catchers are struggling.
Hunter’s catch was his career-high for yardage, but it was on a short dump off pass. On one hand, you can credit Hunter for going and getting 18 yards. On the other hand, you can probably be a bit upset that he is being used only in screens or short passes.
Much like Hunter the corner, Hunter the receiver is still a work in progress professionally. He has done a poor job getting set presnap and has had his own issues with drops.
Wide receiver Dyami Brown’s status for Sunday’s game at the San Francisco 49ers is up in the air currently. Both Brian Thomas Jr. and Parker Washington have struggled in recent weeks. Hunter could potentially help fill Brown’s void or spark some life into this offense. Or maybe not.
The 49ers this year have allowed scores of 13 points, 21 points and 15 points, all in wins. It will take everyone on the Jags to go across the country and defeat a foe they never have in five straight tries.
And it will almost certainly take all of Hunter to win, all two sides of him.
