Under Deion Sanders, Travis Hunter became one of the most electrifying players at the college level in recent years and helped him go second overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. Moreover, Primetime turned Hunter into a Heisman Trophy winner, so he knows a thing or two about getting the most out of the two-way start. Thus, it was a bit odd that the Jacksonville Jaguars never reached out to him.
Sanders recently made an appearance on The Barbershop podcast and told Garrett Bush that the Jags never made an effort to contact him about Hunter.
"Even a guy like Travis Hunter, being drafted to Jacksonville, and," Sanders said, via Pro Football Talk. "Don't you think you would want to talk to me to ask me how — what gets him going and what backs him off and, what, like you wouldn't want to know that?"
The Jaguars never reached out to Deion Sanders about Travis Hunter
Jacksonville doesn't interview prospects during the draft process, so it's understandable that they didn't contact Deion Sanders then. Having said that, once the team's brass traded up to select him second overall, it could have reached out to the Colorado head coach.
And that's the thing, the Jaguars already had an onboarding ready to bring Hunter along, but it wouldn't have hurt to pick Sanders' brain. Sure, you could make the case that the collegiate game is a whole different animal, but the truth is that coaching Hunter helped his coach know what worked and what didn't. That, in turn, might have helped the West Palm Beach, Florida native hit his stride faster in the regular season.
Hunter himself can tell and most likely told the Jags what works, but that shouldn't deter the franchise from reaching out to Sanders and finding a different perspective. This doesn't mean that he would have told Jacksonville how to coach No. 12, but he could have surely provided a few pointers.
In the end, Hunter ended up appearing in 67 percent of the Jaguars' snaps on offense and 36 percent on defense. He got off to a slow start to his rookie season but had a breakout game against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7, registering one pass defensed and reeling in eight receptions for 101 yards with one touchdown.
Unfortunately, a knee injury brought Hunter's rookie campaign to an abrupt end. He underwent surgery not long after and is currently recovering. General manager James Gladstone says that he's ahead of schedule, so he should be close to 100 percent by training camp.
The Jaguars expect big things from Travis Hunter in 2026
There's a chance that Travis Hunter will turn out just fine. Having tested what helps and what doesn't help him will allow the Jaguars to put together a better offseason strategy in 2026. In fact, he's expected to make a massive leap in Year 2, with analysts even predicting that he'll be a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
Now, that may be a bit of a reach, but there's no doubt that Hunter is poised to take a massive step next season. The reason is that he spent his rookie season learning the nuances of playing receiver and corner. Having taken care of the theory part, he can now showcase the skills that made him a star with the Buffaloes.
Would it have helped to reach out to Deion Sanders? You bet, but short of hopping into a time machine and going back in time, there's nothing the Jaguars can do but rely on the intel they collected last year to get the most out of Travis Hunter in 2026.
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