The spotlight was always going to shine on the Heisman Trophy winner, attempting to become the league’s first true two-way player in decades.
Then Jacksonville traded two first round picks and change for the rights to draft him second overall, and expectations rose even higher.
“In our mind, we got two second overall picks this year,” said Tony Boselli, their executive VP of football operations, after making Hunter both the first receiver drafted No. 2 since Calvin Johnson and the highest-drafted defensive back in 34 years.
The 22-year-old has since been the equivalent of a full-time starter, playing mostly on offense. It’s been a mixed bag for a player whose combined snap counts are 101 percent.
He’s played 67 percent of Jacksonville’s offensive snaps (324 total), resulting in 225 routes run, 45 targets, 298 receiving yards and a touchdown. He’s not showing elite separation, but that’s OK, since he can out-jump two defenders.
He’s also played 34 percent of defensive snaps (162 total), with 120 in pass coverage. He’s seen 18 targets, allowed 106 yards and broken up three passes.
Overall, things had been trending up, at least on offense. Running an average of 26 routes per game from Weeks 1 to 5, Hunter’s nearly doubled that mark since, with an average of 47.5 over his past two games.
Could his role continue to expand after a Week 8 bye?
We’ll see, but we’ll have to wait until at least Week 13. On Thursday, the dual-threat was listed on Jacksonville’s injury report due to what Coen said was a non-contact knee issue. The severity became clearer this morning, when the 4-3 Jaguars placed Hunter on IR.
Hunter — who missed two preseason games with an upper-body injury — will now miss the next four weeks.
He’s attempting to redefine what’s possible in the NFL, and I wish him good health. Remember, the rookie is 6-foot-1, 185-pounds. That’s similar to my build, and I write a newsletter for a living.