The spotlight was always going to shine on the Heisman Trophy winner, attempting to become the league\u2019s first true two-way player in decades.<\/p>\n
Then Jacksonville traded two first round picks and change for the rights to draft him second overall, and expectations rose even higher.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our mind, we got two second overall picks this year,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old has since been the equivalent of a full-time starter, playing mostly on offense. It\u2019s been a mixed bag for a player whose combined snap counts are 101 percent.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s played 67 percent of Jacksonville\u2019s offensive snaps (324 total), resulting in 225 routes run, 45 targets, 298 receiving yards and a touchdown. He\u2019s not showing elite separation, but that\u2019s OK, since he can out-jump two defenders.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also played 34 percent of defensive snaps (162 total), with 120 in pass coverage. He\u2019s seen 18 targets, allowed 106 yards and broken up three passes.<\/p>\n
Overall, things had been trending up, at least on offense. Running an average of 26 routes per game from Weeks 1 to 5, Hunter\u2019s nearly doubled that mark since, with an average of 47.5 over his past two games.<\/p>\n
Could his role continue to expand after a Week 8 bye?<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll see, but we\u2019ll have to wait until at least Week 13. On Thursday, the dual-threat was listed on Jacksonville\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Hunter \u2014 who missed two preseason games with an upper-body injury \u2014 will now miss the next four weeks.<\/p>\n