The Jacksonville Jaguars got into pads for the first time this training camp on Monday, and Travis Hunter’s workload kept giving a clearer picture of how the team is deploying him.
In the team’s fifth practice, Hunter logged 13 snaps in 11-on-11 work, with seven on defense and six on offense, according to ESPN’s Michael DiRocco. That came a day after Hunter popped with three highlight plays on Sunday.
Monday brought a quieter result on one target from quarterback Nick Mullens. DiRocco reported there was a "miscommunication" on the route, and the play ended in an incompletion.
Through five practices, Hunter has been on the field for 69 snaps in team periods. Of those, 41 have come at cornerback and 28 at wide receiver.
The early usage lines up with the expectation that Hunter will spend more time at cornerback than he did as a rookie. Jacksonville still wants him involved at receiver, but how often that happens may change from week to week depending on matchups and the flow of games.
Sunday’s practice was the flashier one for Hunter. He came away with an interception and two explosive plays on offense, enough to draw praise from Coen.
"Yeah, that was good," Coen said of Hunter’s performance the day before. "Just coming off what he's gone through to come out and make an impact fairly early on. And for the first time probably since we've been together was like back to back, like making a play on offense, then on defense, then back on offense."
Coen added, "That was really just I think great for everybody to see, not just the fans and the exposure, all that. That's great. That's more just for his confidence and his comfort level getting back out on the grass with his teammates competing and for them to all see him compete like that."
In Other News...
Jaguars Fans Need Patience With One Early Camp Concern
Five practices into training camp, the Jaguars are still doing the sort of work that usually matters more in September than in July. Liam Coen has made it clear the offensive line and the run game are central priorities, and the early focus has been on cleaner blocking techniques and the kind of repetition that helps an offense build timing and trust up front. So far, the returns in the running game have been uneven, but that is hardly unusual this early in the process.
Coen has also stressed patience, and that is probably the right message for a team trying to reshape how it plays in the trenches. The Jaguars are not looking for a finished product yet, only signs that the coaching points are starting to take hold before the season opener. For now, the camp concern is real enough to watch, but not nearly far enough along to draw any firm conclusions. [Read more 🡒]
Travis Hunter Is Giving Jaguars Fans A Real Reason To Dream
Travis Hunter has given Jaguars training camp a jolt by showing up on both sides of the ball, and the early returns have matched the buzz. With Jacksonville now in full pads and fewer 7-on-7 periods to sort through, Hunter has still found ways to make an impression, spending more time on defense overall while flashing the kind of instincts that made him such a rare prospect in the first place.
He has already logged two passes defensed and an interception on defense, along with one catch on offense during the preseason, a small sample that still hints at how the Jaguars might use him. For a team trying to build something bigger than a camp storyline, the real intrigue is how far this two-way workload can go once the practices get more physical and the reps become harder to come by. [Read more 🡒]