JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Expect to see more of Travis Hunter on defense when the Jacksonville Jaguars play at the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Jacksonville coach Liam Coen said Hunter’s playing time on defense will see a “likely uptick” after the No. 2 pick played only six snaps at cornerback in the Jaguars’ season-opening 26-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers because their plan for Hunter called for a gradual increase of defensive snaps.
“Going into Week 1, it was, ‘OK, we know that it’s not going to be a ton on defense,'” Coen said. “The goal is to increase and continue to increase [his defensive snaps]. It just so happens that we’re playing Cincinnati with two good wideouts this week.”
That would be Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, who combined to catch 200 passes for 2,619 yards and 27 touchdowns last season. However, Chase and Higgins combined for only five catches for 59 yards in the Bengals’ 17-16 victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 1.
Hunter played 42 snaps on offense against the Panthers and had a team-high six catches for 33 yards on a team-high eight targets.
