Jaguars' Travis Hunter just joined exclusive NFL club with breakout game vs. Rams

The Jacksonville Jaguars were steamrolled by the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7. They're now 4-3 and will need to regroup in their BYE if they want to have a shot of turning things around. On the other hand, they should feel good about Travis Hunter following his impressive outing.

After hardly using Hunter as a receiver early in the season, Liam Coen vowed to get him more involved. And true to his word, he made the Heisman Trophy winner the focal point of the offense in an effort to keep up with the Seahawks.

Hunter finished the game with eight receptions for 101 yards and scored his first-ever NFL touchdown. On top of that, he joined an exclusive list of players because of his performance on defense.

Travis Hunter made an impact at both receiver and corner in the loss to the Rams

In the midst of the disappointing loss to the Rams, John Shipley of Sports Illustrated noted that Travis Hunter became just the sixth receiver in NFL history to tally 100+ receiving yards and pass defensed in a game. StatMuse has the total number at seven (including Hunter), but the feat is impressive nonetheless.

According to StatMuse, the other wide receivers are Bruce Ellington, Roy Williams, Terrell Owens, DeAndre Hopkins, Randy Moss, and Julio Jones.

Hunter played 67 snaps on offense and was targeted 12 times. On defense, he logged 14 snaps at corner.

The Jaguars need to unleash Travis Hunter more often

Following the game, Liam Coen said he was happy to see Travis Hunter score his first NFL touchdown, noting that it was hard to get anyone involved early on, but the team was eventually able to unleash him.

"Yeah, early on, it was hard to get anybody into a rhythm offensively," Coen told the media. "And then, you know, in the second half, there definitely was a plan going into that we wanted to utilize him more on the offensive side of the ball, specifically trying to get the ball into his hands. And then, the first half was just kind of funky, the way we couldn't get anybody the ball consistently and get into a rhythm."

Coen continued, "And then he was able to make some plays in the second half. Trevor was able to find him on some things that were obviously designed to go to him, in some ways, so happy that he got his first touchdown. Tough to see it come in that moment."

With Brian Thomas Jr. struggling, Travis Hunter's breakout performance came at the right time. Suddenly, the Jaguars have a game-changing weapon that they shouldn't hesitate to deploy more often. In fact, they should use their BYE week to find ways to get the rookie more involved once they return from their break.