The Jacksonville Jaguars are starting on the right track. At 3-1 on the season, the team is coming off a huge win against the San Francisco 49ers last weekend. They are tied with the Indianapolis Colts for the AFC South Division lead, both having a 1-0 division record.
The defense has stepped up by playing very well on that side of the ball. They are forcing opposing QBs to make mistakes with nine interceptions on the season. Shockingly, first-round draft pick Travis Hunter (former Heisman winner) does not have one yet. Linebacker Devin Lloyd was three already on the year as this defense is flying around and making plays.
Some people are concerned that Hunter is off to a slow start on both sides of the ball. Bill Simmons believes that it has been a disaster of a start.
“He doesn’t really jump out off the TV like I thought he would. I mean, there’s a disaster from a fantasy standpoint because people were drafting him like he was better than Egbuka. Which is nuts, but there’s the other piece where they traded up to two. They gave away next year’s number one pick and even worse they didn’t take Abdul Carter. Like if they traded up to two and taken Abdul Carter, I’d be like, alright, I get it the guy looks like he's Micah Parsons 2.0 basically. Or if they had taken Will Campbell, who’s been awesome at left tackle, or they just stayed at five and they took Mason Graham, who’s been really good on the Browns.”
Simmons continued with his take on Hunter and a theoretical NFL re-draft.
“They traded up to take a guy that if you re-drafted, there’s no way he goes ahead of those three. I’m not sure he goes ahead of Jeanty, especially after what we saw last week. I’m not sure if he goes ahead of Membou and Banks, the two tackles who were in the top ten. It’s really rough, like fortunately there’s no Jaguar fans to get mad about it.”
Half of what Hunter does is supposed to go unnoticed, and that is a good thing. If you don't hear Hunter being talked about on defense, then he is doing his job. Offensively, things will pick up for Hunter. He is a talented playmaker with a quarterback who seems to be figuring things out again. If Hunter and Trevor Lawrence continue to build their chemistry (like they are doing on TV commercials), then you will see Hunter catching more passes and dancing in the endzone.
