A hundred snaps for Travis Hunter?
The Jaguars see no ceiling on the rookie's contributions
[September 20, 2025]
By MARK LONG
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.
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Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter speaks at a news
conference after an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers,
Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
“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.”
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