The Jaguars Have 1 Area to Address to Fix Hot Button Travis Hunter Issue

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars do not yet have a Travis Hunter problem, but the start to his 2026 season has been nothing short of, well, underwhelming.

That is not due to anything Hunter has or hasn't done. Hunter has simply not been let onto the field enough through the first two weeks, especially compared to his rookie season. Thankfully for the Jaguars, there is one quick fix to get him into position to start making plays.

The Travis Hunter Question

Even if it may not always be in the best interest of the Jaguars to look to utilize Hunter based off how much they gave up to trade for him last season, that doesn't change the fact that each week he does not play a big role, there will be questions from outside the building on why not. That is the kind of magnetism Hunter has, and that is what people expect out of a No. 2 pick who the Jaguars dealt a large package of picks for.

But this is also something that is frimly in the Jaguars' control. The Jaguars are the ones who dictate Hunter's snaps, and he has played the two lowest snap counts of his early NFL career over the last two weeks. After averaging 69 snaps a game in seven games as a rookie, Hunter has played just 38.5 snaps a game thus far in 2026.

Part of this is because of a change in Hunter's role and the Jaguars' needs. The Jaguars no longer need Hunter as a featured receiver after the trade for Jakobi Meyers and the ascension of Parker Washington. As a result, Hunter only played four offensive snaps in Week 1, followed by six snaps in Week 2. To date in 2026, he has two offensive touches for 11 total yards, both of which came in Week 1.

travis hunte — Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) rushes for yards during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Browns 34-10. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

That means if Hunter is going to get a heavy snap share, it will be on the defensive side of the ball. But through the first two weeks, Hunter has played just 58.41% of the defensive snaps compared to Montaric Brown (76.99%) and Jarrian Jones (67.26%). Hunter has played six more snaps than veteran cornerback Jourdan Lewis, but the Jaguars' rotation at the cornerback rotation has led to Hunter being closer to a part-time player on defense than anything else.

It is that rotation that the Jaguars must take a look at to prevent the Hunter discourse from growing out of control and, more importantly, to get Hunter onto the field more. He is supposed to be a game-changing talent and a true blue-chipper, but the Jaguars need to give him the snaps that reflect that.

"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," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said on Monday.

Sep 20, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis (2) celebrates his interception with cornerback Montaric Brown (1) against the Denver Broncos during the second quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"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.”

The cornerback position is a room of strength for the Jaguars. It didn't look like it in a tough Week 2 loss to the Denver Broncos, though, and perhaps more Hunter would have changed that. For that to happen, though, the Jaguars will have to let go of the idea of a cornerback rotation and simply let Hunter play.

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