Former WR Details Strategy Opponents Will Employ Against Travis Hunter

Imagine for a few seconds Travis Hunter’s NFL debut under the Jacksonville sun on Sept. 7. He lines up at cornerback opposite fellow first-round selection Tetairoa McMillan. On one play, the rookie from Arizona takes Hunter 65 yards down the sideline but Bryce Young instead completes an intermediate route to Xavier Legette.

The Panthers immediately remove McMillan, replace him with Adam Thielen on Hunter’s side of the field, and hustle to the line of scrimmage. Young’s first read, by design of course, will be Thielen.

“I've played for offensive coordinators whose strategy would be just that,” said Andrew Hawkins, who played six combined seasons as a wide receiver with the Bengals and Browns. “And these are guys that are only playing one side of the ball. And what they would do is, they would stick a guy that maybe they're not giving a lot of targets to … and they would just have him go out there, run a go ball, for the love of the game, have their top corner cover it, and then take him out and put the No. 1 receiver in who is fresh.

“And now the cornerback who just ran a 100-yard sprint has to guard someone, let's say, hypothetically, an A.J. Green, or a Josh Gordon, if you will. That actually happens.”

Expect it to happen to Hunter early in the season, similar to what Travis Kelce said this week. Hawkins said Thursday on ESPN’s NFL Live that he admires Hunter’s ambition and determination, but can’t believe any player – including a football unicorn like Hunter – can successfully navigate starting on both sides of the ball at the highest level.

“Now look,” Hawkins said, “I don't feel like I'm crazy for saying that trying to play full-time No. 1 corner and starting receiver in the NFL is impossible. That's just my opinion. I'm okay if I'm wrong, but history actually backs me there.”

History backs him because no NFL player in 29 years has started on both sides of the ball at least eight times in the same season. It was Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who went on to become Hunter’s college head coach.

Hawkins sings in the growing chorus of current and former NFL players who see Hunter’s ideal role as strategic and limited on one side of the ball, and full-time on the other.

“Whether it be the No. 3 receiver or the nickel packages,” Hawkins envisioned, “he's going to be more predominantly in a third-down scenario. Otherwise, it's going to be too much wear and tear. And rookies, they get tired a lot faster than vets. It's called the rookie wall. So, you can imagine how much faster he's going to hit the rookie wall playing full-time on both sides of the ball in an NFL schedule.”

Hunter’s schedule, at least entering training camp, consists of majoring in offense and minoring in defense. The Jaguars have wanted to overload him with meeting time and practice reps at wide receiver, knowing that defense needs less schematic preparation and more natural instinct. Hunter said himself his natural football awareness helped him make some phenomenal defensive plays in college.

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