The Jaguars’ rotation at cornerback is shaping Travis Hunter’s early-season workload, and head coach Liam Coen made it clear the rookie isn’t being singled out so much as he’s part of a larger plan in the secondary.
Hunter has logged just 66 defensive snaps this season, which works out to 58.41 percent of the defensive snaps. Coen said the way Jacksonville is cycling corners has influenced that usage, and he pointed to the depth at the position as a reason the team feels comfortable spreading the work around.
“We did it for the most part of the last season as well, before Travis got hurt. It’s something that we got to continue to do.
We have corners that we have confidence in. Those guys can all make plays for us.
They can all communicate for us. They’ve been in the system now,” Coen said, via John Shipley of SI.
“We got to play it better, for sure, but we also got to get to the quarterback to help those guys out as well in the back end. Definitely some communication and we’re a little bit softer than I would’ve liked us to be, especially in some situations.
But yeah, it’s a rotation. Pre-game, we have it all laid out.
The players know it. They all know the rotation.
It’s been clearly laid out to them what the expectations and standards are.”
In Houston, the conversation around Jaylin Noel has been a little different. The Texans wideout has taken a step forward as a return man, but the receiving production hasn’t matched what the team had in mind. Head coach DeMeco Ryans said Noel has given the Texans a boost in the return game and added that the offense can do more to help him settle into his role.
“We all have a lot to work on. Coaches, players, we all have a lot to work on.
It’s not good enough,” Ryans said, via the Texans Wire. “And I think it’s easy to sit back and kind of nitpick, ‘Hey, what didn’t go wrong?’
‘J-Noel’ got one big explosive on the pass, did another good job on the jet sweep. ‘J-Noel’ has done a great job.
He improved in the punt return area. He did a really good job of being decisive as a punt returner.
I thought ‘J-Noel’ took a huge step this past week and he got better for our football team and he put us in position to have some opportunities to go score. As we continue to build off of what he’s shown, we’ll continue to see how that role continues to thrive.”
Ryans also said the Texans’ receiver usage can vary from week to week depending on the flow of the game, and he made it clear the team wants to keep creating chances for Noel without forcing the issue.
“With our receivers, we have different packages of different guys with different play calls they are in. How those snap counts kind of come about, it depends on how the game is going, how the game is flowing. No one wants to see ‘J-Noel’ make more explosive plays than all of us, so just got to find a way to keep moving it around and find a way to make plays offensively no matter who it is that’s getting the football.”
In Tennessee, Titans head coach Robert Saleh had praise for Elic Ayomanor after the receiver stepped up in the team’s second regular-season game. Saleh singled out Ayomanor’s approach and the amount of work he puts into his craft.
“ You’d be hard-pressed to find a receiver in this league that works as hard as he does, trains as hard as he does,” Saleh said, via Titans Wire. “ He’s improving every single day.
I love his mindset, I love his work ethic, and how hard he works at his craft. “
In Other News...
Titans Still Sorting Out Offensive Line Depth Ahead Of Week 3
The Titans keep tinkering with the back end of their offensive line picture as Week 3 approaches, a sign that the group is still not settled behind the top options. Tennessee brought guard Drew Moss back to the practice squad after a round of workouts that included offensive linemen Nick Broeker, Amari Kight and Brandon Walton, each with some NFL experience, while linebacker Jimmy Ciarlo was waived in the move.
Ciarlo had been filling in temporarily for injured Mohamoud Diabate, so the roster shuffle also shows how these small decisions can ripple beyond one position. With the New York Giants next on the schedule, Tennessee is still sorting out where it wants its depth to land and which linemen it trusts most if the game starts to test that group. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Just Got A Very Different Week 3 Challenge In New York
The Titans are heading into Week 3 with a very different look on the other sideline than the one they likely spent the early part of the week preparing for. Jaxson Darts knee injury ended his season, and the Giants are now expected to turn to Jameis Winston at quarterback for Sundays matchup in New York, changing the tone of a game that already carried plenty of early-season pressure.
For Tennessee, the switch adds a new layer of uncertainty because it comes alongside other injury concerns for the Giants as they approach kickoff. A different quarterback changes the reads, the rhythm and the game-plan details, and it leaves the Titans dealing with a moving target instead of the version of New York they may have anticipated when the week began. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Face An Intriguing Week 3 What-If With Giants Running Back
The conversation around Cam Skattebo has given the Titans another reminder that Week 3 matchups can hinge on more than just the names on the marquee. Robert Saleh, who now leads Tennessee, pointed out that the 49ers had been close to taking the Giants running back in 2025 before New York landed him with the 105th pick, a small draft twist that still resonates when teams start comparing what might have been.
Skattebo has already shown enough to make that kind of hindsight interesting, with 527 rushing yards and six touchdowns across his first two seasons despite missing part of his rookie year because of a dislocated ankle. The 49ers wound up going a different direction shortly after Skattebo came off the board, taking C.J. West, and now the Titans are left watching a player whose early career has already carried a few what-ifs with it. [Read more 🡒]