What Travis Hunter Could Have in Common With NFL Legend

Travis Hunter will be the Jaguars’ candidate for NFL MVP this season, according to NFL.com. Because he’ll be playing on both sides of the ball and diluting his opportunity to rack up eye-catching numbers, the MVP could be the only significant award for which he’ll qualify.

But even if Hunter secures MVP votes from Associated Press voters, the Jaguars are in for a storybook season. And if he wins, fans will party on the St. John’s River like it’s 1957, when Jim Brown became the last rookie to win the MVP.

“I fully recognize how unlikely it would be for Hunter to become the first player in nearly 70 years to accomplish the feat,” wrote Eric Edholm on Wednesday. “The expectations for Hunter appear to already be unfairly high -- way above most rookies, including quarterbacks.

“Yet if the two-way player can pull off the NFL equivalent to his 2024 season at Colorado, he might break the paradigm of what being a league MVP looks like. He played more than 750 snaps on each side of the ball last year, unexpectedly taking home the Heisman Trophy and perhaps setting the stage for a unique NFL career.”

That’s an understatement. Hunter easily could author the most unique career in NFL history. Head coach Liam Coen said following an OTA session this spring that secondary coach Ron Milus was already campaigning for Hunter.

“Milo came up to me after practice and said, ‘Can we have him more?’” Coen said. “That's a good thing.”

A better thing would be for the Jaguars and the NFL to figure out exactly how Jacksonville will deploy him. Strap in, though, because it’s likely to be a different deployment on a weekly basis.

“Though we don’t yet know the Jaguars’ detailed plans for him,” Edholm wrote, “Hunter said he wants to play full time on both sides of the ball -- and who are we to doubt him? There are more measured MVP candidates in Jacksonville, including Trevor Lawrence, Brian Thomas Jr., Travon Walker and Joshua Hines-Allen, but what fun is there in that?”

Oh, those four will have a lot of fun if Hunter brings them wins, regardless of whether the rookie earns votes in the MVP race. For that to happen, Edholm estimates Hunter as a wide receiver will need at least 900 receiving yards and between 8-10 touchdown catches.

As a cornerback, he’ll probably need four-plus interceptions and a plethora of highlight-classic plays.

“He could be the longest of long shots,” Edholm said, “but Hunter is the most fascinating possibility here.”

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