Rookie Travis Hunter had a pretty good offseason and is ready to play two ways in 2025 in spite of missing two preseason bouts. What's unknown is just how much playing time the reigning Heisman Trophy winner will get or how the Jacksonville Jaguars will deploy him.
Based on recent comments head coach Liam Coen made, everybody will have to wait until the Week 1 game against the Carolina Panthers.
Liam Coen reveal how the Jaguars plan to use Travis Hunter
Liam Coen met with the local media and said that the team is still figuring out how they'll use Travis Hunter in the season opener, pointing out that he's a bit behind after missing time in the preseason.
"Yeah, we're still working through it right now," Liam Coen responded when asked if Hunter will start against Carolina (9:57 mark) "You obviously miss a lot of time there that you know can impact playing anybody, nonetheless, a rookie that misses quite a bit of time, so what that usage looks like, we're still working through."
Of course, Coen wasn't going to tip his hand and say how Jacksonville plans to deploy Hunter; why would he? The rookie head coach would be giving away the team's strategy. Then again, it's encouraging to hear that he hasn't had any setbacks.
The former Colorado Buffalo missed time in the preseason with an upper-body injury, but Coen told the press not long after roster cutdown day that he was ready to go.
Hunter played on both offense and defense in the preseason opener after beginning to switch sides on the same day of practice in training camp.
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Travis Hunter will give the Jaguars an edge vs. the Panthers
The Jaguars are dealing with injuries at cornerback, but the fact that the Panthers will be without receiver Jalen Coker will soften the blow. The fact that Travis Hunter will be at full strength will also help.
Carolina will still have Hunter Renfrow, Tetairoa McMillan, and Xavier Legette, but the Jacksonville secondary has the edge on this matchup. Then again, the Jags cannot afford to play down to their interconference rival. They're currently a 3.0-point favorite, so it's expected to be a close bout, and understandably so.
The Panthers are entering Year 2 of the Dave Canales era and are expected to improve after finishing 2024 on a strong note. With a more experienced Bryce Young at the helm, they could turn out to be better than originally thought.
On the other hand, the Jaguars have also gotten much better since the end of the 2024 season. One of the reasons is that they now have Travis Hunter in the mix, and they'll try to have an edge by not revealing how they plan to use him and keep Carolina guessing.