Overall, Travis Hunter‘s NFL debut was a success. The Jacksonville Jaguars crushed the Carolina Panthers in Liam Coen‘s first game as the team’s head coach, and Hunter made his presence felt as the team’s leading pass-catcher and target-earner with six receptions on eight targets. Yet fans were left wanting more.
It was made known before the game that Hunter would operate as a full-time wide receiver, while being sprinkled in on defense. His two-way abilities simply weren’t needed much, though, with Carolina’s offense struggling mightily. A pre-game report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter mentioned that Hunter’s usage on both sides of the ball would vary week-to-week. For Week 2, there’s a different lean that the Jaguars coaching staff is moving towards.
Travis Hunter will play more defensive snaps in Week 2 against Bengals
Coen himself, along with external reports, suggested that Hunter will be used much more on defense than he was in Week 1. According to Coen, “the goal is to increase” his workload as the season goes along. It certainly makes sense to ramp him up ahead of Week 2 due to Jacksonville’s opponent.
On the docket for the Jaguars are the Cincinnati Bengals. Despite a mediocre Week 1 performance, Cincinnati possesses arguably the most explosive passing offense in the NFL, with Joe Burrow throwing to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. With those two wideouts demanding so much attention, Hunter will be needed way more on defense than he was against the Panthers.
Hunter may still be a bit raw as a cornerback prospect, but he got his feet wet in Week 1 and could be thrown into the fire out of necessity against two of the best wide receivers in the league this upcoming week.
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