While former Colorado team-mate Shedeur Sanders stole a lot of the draft weekend spotlight with his slide into the fifth round, Travis Hunter remained the biggest prize of opening night.

The winners of that prize were the Jacksonville Jaguars, who paid a hefty price for their ticket as they traded up three spots to select the two-way phenom second overall, handing the Cleveland Browns second- and fourth-round picks this year and their first selection in next year’s draft. For the new pairing of GM James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen, however, it was a toll worth playing to land a talent that could not only make a difference as a rookie, but across his entire NFL career.

“There are players who have the capacity to alter a game, [and] there are players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of a team,” Gladstone told the media at the end of the draft’s opening night. “There are very few players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of the sport, [but] Travis, while he has a lot to still earn, in our eyes has the potential to do just that.

“As a person, he’s also rare. When we say that the idea of inviting people into our ecosystem, who by being nothing more than who they are, elevate the space, that’s the epitome of what Travis is. We’re not going to ask him to be any more than him because by doing so, he elevates not only this football team, not only this city, but the sport itself.”

Hunter first came to the nation’s attention when decommitting from Florida State to join Sanders at tiny HBCU Jackson State. Already starring at both wide receiver and cornerback in high school, the Florida native then transferred to Colorado when Jackson State HC Deion Sanders — former two-way NFL star and Shedeur’s father — took over at the Boulder programme. While few expect Hunter to be able to play as much football as he did each game in college, the Jaguars appear prepared to make full use of his undoubted abilities.

“We have to be fluid throughout this whole process,” Coen admitted. “We’ve had multiple conversations, at length, with athletic training, equipment, sports science, coaching — everybody involved — about this process and what it’s going to look like moving forward. We have a plan in place, and that’s really where we’ll start.”

Gladstone revealed that trade talks with Cleveland — who went on to select DT Mason Graham at five — had been ongoing for several weeks, with the only likely fly in the ointment being if Cam Ward somehow slipped past Tennessee at the top of the draft, or the Titans traded out of the number one spot. For Hunter, however, the Jaguars’ decision to move up and grab him, while a surprise, provides the perfect platform to address the sceptics.

“What do I think about it? It was a great choice,” the Heisman Trophy winner smiled at his introductory press conference. ” I’ve just got to come and do my job; come out and be Travis Hunter; come out and play how they envision me to play and exceed all the expectations.

“I’ve just got to go out there and prove them right. It’s definitely a lot of motivation. They sacrificed a lot to get me, [and] that means they believe in me. That just validates that I need to go ahead and just do my job. I’m not going to say I’m going to change anything. I don’t want to set the expectation too high. I’m just going to come in and do my job, and hopefully we change the atmosphere. I did a lot of work to get to where I’m at, so, I’m going to continue to put in the work, continue to grind, and just continue to do what I do.”