The Jacksonville Jaguars have used Travis Hunter sparingly through two weeks, which has drawn criticism. But, he should continue to ramp up as the seasons progresses.
The Jacksonville Jaguars came back to Earth in Week 2's 20-13 loss against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, ending the team's nine-game regular season win streak.
But, to this point, former No. 2 overall pick Travis Hunter has been quiet, with limited opportunities on offense and rotational snaps as a defensive back.
While the lessened offensive snaps were by design, having Hunter sidelined on defense seems unwise, as he has shown the ability to be a lockdown corner in his limited NFL reps.
"We're gonna look at giving him some more this week," head coach Liam Coen said about Hunter's defensive reps.
Hunter did look strong in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, appearing in 29 defensive snaps and giving up just one short reception for four yards.
But, in a big-time matchup with the Broncos, Hunter played only 59% of the defensive plays.
Former FOX Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho was one voice who expressed discontent with how Hunter is being utilized, calling it "utter and absolute negligence" on his podcast on Tuesday.
Acho jokingly implored the team to "get a refund" if this was the plan for his snap count going forward, saying that Hunter is far too talented to be sidelined for the majority of the game.
Action Sports Jax' Brent Martineau had similar feelings about Hunter's situation, saying they need to simply "play him" and work through whatever comes with it.
Martineau compared it to the 2016 NFL Draft, where Jacksonville selected Jalen Ramsey and played him nearly every snap from Week 1-on.
Of course, with Hunter's injury from his rookie season, ramping him back up could be by design, and Jacksonville's primary defensive backs have held up to this point.
But, for a Jaguars' team that set franchise records for takeaways last season, having a game-wrecking type player like Hunter on the field should be a priority to continue forcing havoc in the defensive backfield.
Offensively, the depth at the wide receiver position could limit Hunter's snap count, but the same logic applies.
Hunter played just 10% of the offensive snaps against Denver and the offense faltered, scoring just one touchdown.
Coen talked about Hunter getting more comfortable after the significant missed time from last season on Wednesday.
"You can walk through a million things in the meeting room setting, but just missed a lot of pitching and catching..." Coen said. "When you struggle to move the ball specifically in fourth quarter like we did and you lose, we gotta go look at everything we’re doing. Touches, targets."
Using Hunter, even as a decoy, could help give Jacksonville a different look when the offense is struggling.
He is a big-play threat and will need to play both sides to make good on the additional draft compensation the front office gave up to move to No. 2 and select the former Heisman winner.
Expect Hunter to see more action Sunday afternoon against the New England Patriots, as he works back to in-game speed.
