Jacksonville Jaguars CB/WR Travis Hunter blossomed into a Heisman Trophy winner under the guidance of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders. But in a rather surprising move, the team apparently didn’t bother to talk to Hunter’s former head coach before drafting him.
Appearing on The Barbershop podcast, Sanders first spoke about the Cleveland Browns not talking to him about his son Shedeur Sanders in 2025 and not yet asking him anything about him in 2026 now that they have a new coaching staff. But Sanders also revealed that the Jaguars never bothered to speak to him about the strength and weaknesses he may have identified in Hunter over three years of coaching him.
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“Even a guy like Travis Hunter, being drafted to Jacksonville, and I’ve had him for the last three,” Coach Prime said on the show. “Don’t you think you would want to talk to me to let me know, to ask me how — what gets him going and what backs him off and, and what, like, you wouldn’t want to know that?”
No Contact?
The Jaguars were happy enough to take a rather expensive gamble on Hunter in the 2025 NFL Draft, sending the 2025 No. 5 overall pick, the 36th pick (second round), the 126th pick (fourth round) and a 2026 first-round pick to Cleveland to move up to No. 2 overall and take him. One would think that a team ready to mortgage serious draft compensation would make sure to cross every T and dot every I in the process.
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Though the Jaguars went on to enjoy one of the best turnarounds in NFL history, going 13-4 after just 4-13 the year before, that was largely in spite of Hunter, not because of him.
Oct 19, 2025; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) reacts after a play against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of an NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The Jaguars clearly thought they knew better than Sanders in how to develop Hunter and maybe history will prove them right. But the early returns have fans more nervous than excited.
Hunter played both sides of the ball and looked okay but was hardly elite over the seven games he managed to stay healthy for. He finished the season with 298 receiving yards and one touchdown on offense and had 15 tackles and three passes defended on defense.
This story was originally published by The Spun on May 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.