Travis Hunter has successfully achieved his goal of playing on both offense and defense in the NFL, playing over 30 snaps at each wide receiver and cornerback for the Jaguars in Weeks 2 and 3. However, he hasn't been as impactful as expected thus far, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Through three games, Hunter has been targeted 16 times and caught just 10 passes for 76 yards. In the Jaguars' win over the Texans on Sunday, Hunter caught just one pass for 21 yards. Comparatively, Hunter finished top-five in the country in receiving yards and second in receiving touchdowns during his final season at Colorado.
Hunter's college coach, Deion Sanders, appeared on the New Heights podcast on Monday, and host Travis Kelce asked Sanders if he liked how the Jaguars have used Hunter so far.
Sanders, who has consistently supported Hunter's goal to play on both sides of the ball, responded, "No. They're not using him enough."
"I've seen it with my own eyes on an everyday basis for three straight years so I know what he's capable of," Sanders continued. "... Travis is a big kid, he just loves the game, he loves football, he loves studying, he loves the preparation. He always had at least five hours of studying each week. ... He is just a phenomenal athlete, one of the greatest I've ever seen do both simultaneously, and he dominated."
Though Hunter is only three games into his NFL career and likely will be targeted more over the rest of the season, it is surprising he hasn't already become a bigger part of the Jaguars' offense. After all, the Jaguars didn't trade up to No. 2 to draft him so he'd only have one catch in a key divisional game.
The Jaguars have managed to start 2-1 despite Hunter's limited production on offense, but it will be important to get him increasingly involved going forward.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Deion Sanders Has Blunt Thoughts on Travis Hunter's Usage With Jaguars.