From winning the Heisman as college football's top two-way threat at Colorado to being used as a decoy of sorts offensively in his second NFL season, Travis Hunter's role with the Jaguars has yet to be defined this fall.
The former first-round pick recorded 28 receptions for 298 yards and a touchdown as a rookie over seven games and started in the secondary before a season-ending knee injury in 2025.
Now? Jacksonville's barely using Hunter on offense and he's been a rotational player on the other side of the football. Colorado coach Deion Sanders is baffled by his former player's usage in what's been an undefined role thus far heading into Sunday's game with the Patriots.
"I don't ask questions because I'm not there," Sanders said this week on his coaches show. "I don't know what transpires when we're not looking. I have no idea what's going on. I know who he was and who he is right now. I know what he's capable of. I do know that."
During last week's loss to the Broncos, Hunter only played 60% of Jacksonville's total plays on defense.
"Any time you struggle offensively, you look at the totality of it all," Jaguars coach Liam Coen said this week. "Travis is a big part of that obviously. We're looking at continuing to find different ways to get him involved. You're also looking at the other side of the ball. … We're gonna look at giving him some more this week."
Travis Hunter's snap count this season
OffenseDefense
Week 1
4 snaps
29 snaps
Week 2
6 snaps
37 snaps
Hunter's on-field snaps offensively last season dwindled as the year progressed prior to injury. At Colorado, Hunter averaged more 113 snaps per game during his final campaign and rarely came off the field.
Sanders said last September during Hunter's rookie season that Coen and the Jaguars weren't using him enough and questioned the lightened workload.
"I've seen it with my own eyes on an everyday basis for three straight years, so I know what he's capable of, and I know how you've got to take care of him," Sanders said during a New Heights podcast episode. "He never practices on Tuesday. He practices on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. He was ready to play a hundred and some snaps on Saturday, so you didn't need to use him on a Tuesday or a Monday. You don't use him like that."
Earlier this offseason, Sanders said he was surprised the Jaguars didn't reach out about game planning and how to utilize Hunter's full skill set.
"I've had him of rate last three (years)," Sanders said on The Barbershop podcast in May. "Don't you think you would want to talk to me to let me know, to ask me how — what gets him going and what backs him off and, and what, like, you wouldn't want to know that?"
Coen's explanation
Coen expects Hunter to play more total snaps agains the Patriots and said the cornerback rotation was all part of his team's plan early this fall.
"We did it for the most part last season as well before Travis got hurt," Coen said this week. "It's something we have to continue to do. We have corners 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. We have to play it better, but we also have to get to the quarterback to help those guys out as well in the back end. It's a rotation based on pregame. We have it all laid out. The players know it. They all know the rotation. It has been clearly laid out to them what the expectations and standards are."
Hunter has not complained about his role after two games and said following the loss to the Broncos that he was simply following the coaching staff's plan for him.
