Why Travis Hunter Should Focus on Defense First for Jaguars

Travis Hunter Jr. should be a full-time cornerback, part-time wide receiver

In Week 3's win over the Houston Texans, Travis Hunter Jr. lined up on defense more than he did at wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He had 43 snaps at cornerback compared to 37 on offense.

This is part of a larger trend throughout the season. In Jacksonville's opener against the Carolina Panthers, Hunter Jr. had 42 snaps at wide receiver and just six at cornerback in the blowout win. In Week 2 versus the Cincinnati Bengals, he saw an uptick in usage on defense, partly because of Jarrian Jones' injury. In Cincy, he saw 43 plays at DB and 42 at wideout.

Head Coach Liam Coen had expressed in the offseason that the goal was for his second-overall pick to play 80 percent of all snaps on both sides of the ball. Against Houston, he lined up on just under 53 percent of offensive snaps and over 68 percent on defense.

Maybe that's the correct ratio for Hunter Jr. The hope was that he would come in and provide a second elite target for Trevor Lawrence in the passing game, opposite of Brian Thomas Jr. So far, he's been a solid release valve, but hasn't been able to make a huge impact as a receiver.

He wasn't perfect as a corner against the Texans either, but he had some great showings in coverage in spots, earning a 61.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. That's a slightly above-average mark.

Ushering him into a defense-first role and mentality would allow him to focus his development in his rookie year. It'd also let him learn offensive concepts from a defender's perspective, which could ultimately make him a better receiver, too. Mina Kimes expressed the same thoughts on The Bill Simmons Podcast:

"It never made sense to me that somebody would just play a little bit of corner. I actually thought the reverse made more sense, right? Like, as a full-time corner with, like, a little receiver. You bring him in on maybe, like, for big plays or in the red zone or on screens, if that's the way you want to use him."

"It's so hard to play cornerback in the NFL. You have to study so many things, not just scheme, but like, individual players' tendencies, it's tricky. So yeah, it might look better much later on than it does earlier, and I think that's completely within the realm of possibility for Travis Hunter."