The local media was given access to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ voluntary offseason workout session on Tuesday, and among the top stories was the progress of star rookie Travis Hunter (and the surprising absence of starting running back Travis Etienne).
Fans will notice one thing as photos and videos trickle out from Tuesday’s practice: Hunter’s doing a lot more catching of quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s passes than he is defending them lately.
While the extent of Hunter’s two-way role as a wide receiver and cornerback is yet to be clearly defined by head coach Liam Coen, the rookie has worked primarily on offense during sessions open to the media. That could be gamesmanship on Jacksonville’s part, but Coen seemed to reveal Tuesday that the part-time role on defense is part of the plan.
Jacksonville’s new head coach hinted that Hunter’s role on defense could be limited to high-leverage situations, like third downs and two-minute drives.
“We won’t put him in a situation where he’s doing offense and defense on the same day,” Coen said, “even though I’m sure he would want to. He does still meet with the defense on days where he’s on offense, so he gets the mental part of it. But it would probably be unfair to put him out on the grass and ask him to do both, and to expect success.
“In-season, though, he’ll definitely have to do that, just because of the way that practices are organized. I envision maybe a third-down day, in-season, where he’s playing receiver but he has to go get some reps on defense and be able to do some of those things. But I don’t see us doing that anytime soon.”
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This all checks out, as the Jaguars wouldn’t have spent the draft capital they did for Hunter if they didn’t view him as a difference-maker on offense. Jacksonville also has an established top-three at cornerback in Tyson Campbell, Jarrian Jones and nickel Jordan Lewis. Montaric Brown also put some good reps on tape last season and deserves to be in the CB4 discussion.
Jacksonville’s prized 2025 draft pick is a lot more valuable as the No. 2 wide receiver than the fourth or fifth cornerback, so splitting the majority of Hunter’s reps on offense makes the most sense.
It’s too early to say anything’s set in stone, and injuries could play a major role once we get into the meat of the season, but it appears Hunter will be doing a lot more catching than tackling during his rookie campaign.
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