A hundred snaps for Travis Hunter? The Jaguars see no ceiling on the rookie’s contributions

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – No one should be surprised to see two-way star Travis Hunter play close to a hundred snaps against Houston on Sunday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars just might need it.

With receiver Brian Thomas Jr. struggling and dealing with a sore wrist, and cornerback Jarrian Jones recovering from back tightness, the Jaguars (1-1) may ask the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner to do even more against the Texans (0-2).

The team’s Mr. Everything played a whopping 85 snaps – 42 on offense and 43 on defense – in a 31-27 loss at Cincinnati last week. He was merely ramping up after missing the final two weeks during training camp with a shoulder injury.

“We haven’t necessarily said, ‘OK, there’s a number that he can’t go to yet,'” coach Liam Coen said Friday. “Whether that occurs and he goes over that number this week, who knows? But I think we’re just going to be open to seeing where it goes.”

Hunter has been a major story line for the floundering franchise since it traded up three spots to draft him second overall in April. Trying to hone two playbooks and learn two game plans each week, Hunter appears to have as much on his plate as any rookie in the league.

But he’s handling it well, teammates and coaches say. And he doesn’t consider the workload even remotely close to too much.

“My body feels great,” said Hunter, who averaged 117 snaps a game last year at Colorado. “I played way more snaps in college. I feel great.”

Hunter still has critics, those who believe he would be better off focusing on one side of the ball instead of trying to become the first player in the Super Bowl era to play significantly both ways.

The Jaguars counter with how close Hunter is to being the talk of the league.

Trevor Lawrence underthrew what could have been touchdowns passes to Hunter in both games. Carolina’s Jaycee Horn made a leaping, one-handed interception on a deep ball to Hunter in the opener, and Cincinnati All-Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson hit Lawrence as he released a pass intended for Hunter in the end zone that wound up as another pick last week.

Throw in Hunter’s near-perfect coverage on Bengals receiver Andrei Iosivas on a fourth-down play in the waning minute, and Jacksonville has no complaints even though Hunter was flagged for pass interference on what turned out to be the game-winning drive.

“We have a plan in place for his progression,” defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile said. “He’s done pretty well to this point. … He’s trending the right way, and obviously the more he plays, the better and better he is going to be.”

The Jaguars spend time each week mapping out Hunter’s usage. They plan his daily schedule with a director of performance science and keep close tabs on his workouts, his eating habits and his practice and game numbers in hopes of finding a sweet spot.

“We’ve got to manage it, though,” Coen said. “It’s something that we definitely need to make sure we’re constantly evaluating and being able to tweak if necessary.”

Jacksonville wants Hunter on the field in crunch time, on offense if the Jags are chasing points and on defense if they’re trying to close out games. He’s playing primarily as the team’s slot receiver in three-receiver sets and as an outside cornerback in nickel and dime defenses.

But his role could expand against the Texans, especially if Thomas continues dropping passes and/or short-arming routes over the middle or if Jones tweaks his back again.

The toughest part might be keeping up with in-game adjustments. After all, there are times when Hunter is on the field while the offense and defense make changes.

“He’s got to be on red alert every second of the game,” Campanile said.

Hunter welcomes anything and everything. It’s what he wanted in college stops at Jackson State and Colorado and what he implored teams that considered drafting him to do at the pro level.

“It’s nothing new. I just got to do what I need to do to help my team out the best way possible,” he said. “It’s the same (as college). We pretty much synced it to being the same thing so I felt comfortable with doing what I was doing.”