Jacksonville Jaguars' Travis Hunter on list of dark horse MVP candidates

USA Today

5 hours ago

Jacksonville Jaguars' Travis Hunter on list of dark horse MVP candidates On NFL .com's list of dark horse MVP candidates was the Jaguars' Travis Hunter.
Judy Battista of NFL.com put together her list of dark horse MVP candidates, and included was the Jacksonville Jaguars' Travis Hunter.
"Perhaps the darkest of dark horses on this list, Hunter mans two positions, but neither is quarterback," wrote Battista. "Still, how do you ignore a player who could do something rarely seen in the NFL: play both ways and have a significant impact at both receiver and cornerback? Key to whether the reigning Heisman Trophy winner garners any votes will be how big his numbers at receiver are, and how much the Jaguars use him on defense."
The MVP over the years has been a quarterback award. The Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year have been for the best non-quarterbacks in a given season. So in that sense, Hunter is already facing an uphill battle when it comes to winning this award, as Battista mentions. He's also the only rookie to make an appearance on Battista's list.
However, what can't be ignored either is what Hunter is trying to accomplish by being a true two-way player. While ultimately it will be his production on both sides of the ball that garners the attention, being able to post those numbers starts with what his playing time and opportunities look like at wide receiver and cornerback.
This was a topic that GM James Gladstone discussed recently while making an appearance on Sirius XM's NFL radio. In short, the number of snaps that Hunter sees on offense and defense on a given week will be fluid and can vary depending on what the matchup dictates.
'Time will truly tell, and I think the thing you can, in fact, read into at this stage is that he does not tire," said Gladstone. "He has got a spark, he has got the energy, the capacity from a physical standpoint to be able to do it is certainly there. It'll be in terms of one game to the next, where does it sit, where does it make the most sense, certain game plans might dictate usage differently.
"So time will truly tell, and I don't know that one game to the next is going to be the exact same. Putting a number on it at this stage is, I think probably premature, but look forward to seeing how it plays out here."
By design, Hunter has spent most of his time at wide receiver during offseason programs. As Gladstone mentioned, this was because the Jaguars view cornerback as his more natural position, so they chose to onboard him at wideout.
But as OTAs and minicamp unfolded, we saw more of Hunter on defense. The next step will be playing both sides of the ball during the same practice regularly. For the most part, this offseason, Hunter's practice time on a specific day was devoted to either offense or defense.