The new Jaguars regime kicked off their first NFL draft by boldly trading up to the No. 2 pick to take cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter. The Jaguars' leadership—owner Shad Khan, executive vice president of football operations Tony Boselli, general manager James Gladstone and coach Liam Coen—were all aligned in the decision to trade up for Hunter despite not necessarily knowing him well on a personal level.

Outside of an interview at the scouting combine, the Jaguars did not talk to Hunter during the draft process. They did not host any prospects for pre-draft visits, and instead gained confidence in their decision to take the Heisman trophy winner through Boselli talking with Colorado coach Deion Sanders about Hunter and his goal to play both ways as a pro.

"The confidence that Coach Prime had given us about him," Coen said on the Rich Eisen Show. "Just how confident he was that he could do this was pretty telling. At no point was it ever, 'Yeah you know he's talented, but this is gonna be something he may struggle with' ... It was 'Man, he can do this.' That was just cool to hear from a guy that you obviously have a ton of respect for playing the game at a high level and in the same profession in coaching at a high level as we are."

Sanders, who briefly played offense and defense during his own Hall of Fame career, has been one of the few people to never doubt Hunter's ability to play both ways in college or in the NFL. His faith in Hunter playing offense and defense is a major reason Hunter flipped his commitment from a power-five school to Jackson State, and went on to win national awards at both positions at Colorado under Sanders's leadership. Sanders has continually advocated for Hunter to play both ways in the NFL, which he is now on track to do for the Jaguars.

The relationship between Sanders and Hunter has not only given the Jaguars belief in his ability to play two ways, but confidence in who he is as a person. Bringing in high-character players is important to the Jaguars, Coen shared that seeing their relationship has only further demonstrated the type of person Hunter is.

"They have a relationship that is extremely strong," Coen told Eisen. "It's a bond that's real. Travis has so much respect for Coach Prime and you can tell it goes both ways. To hear Travis, the way he speaks about him, and obviously Coach Prime having some health issues over the last few months, how much ... he cares. He cares a lot about him. You can see the person in Travis show up a lot, the young man when he talks about Prime."

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jaguars Coach Reveals How Deion Sanders Gave Team Confidence to Draft Travis Hunter.

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