{"id":245908,"date":"2025-09-12T15:03:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T19:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=245908"},"modified":"2025-09-12T15:03:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T19:03:30","slug":"jacksonville-jaguars-plan-expanded-defensive-role-for-rookie-travis-hunter-against-bengals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/09\/12\/jacksonville-jaguars-plan-expanded-defensive-role-for-rookie-travis-hunter-against-bengals\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville Jaguars Plan Expanded Defensive Role for Rookie Travis Hunter Against Bengals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen made it clear this week that rookie sensation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/H\/HuntTr00.htm?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-09-12_pfr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Travis Hunter<\/a> will have an expanded role on defense when the team heads to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bengals\/\" target=\"_self\">Cincinnati Bengals<\/a>. The two-way superstar, who has already flashed big-play ability on offense and is now set to see more snaps in the secondary.<\/p>\n<h2>Jacksonville Jaguars Plan Expanded Defensive Role for Rookie Travis Hunter Against Bengals<\/h2>\n<h3><strong>A True Two-Way Playmaker<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Hunter, the No. 2 overall pick in April\u2019s draft, entered the league with the expectation of being an instant difference-maker. His ability to track the football, create separation, and bring energy to every snap has made him one of the most exciting young players in the NFL. However, Coen emphasized that his defensive talent could provide even more value as the Jaguars prepare for a Bengals team featuring one of the league\u2019s most dangerous passing attacks.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Coaching Staff Trust Continues to Grow<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cTravis has shown us he can handle the workload,\u201d Coen said. \u201cWe believe giving him more defensive opportunities will only make us stronger against a team like Cincinnati.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The decision also highlights the staff\u2019s growing trust in the rookie. Although Hunter has spent most of his early snaps at wide receiver, his quickness and coverage instincts give Jacksonville another weapon in the secondary. Additionally, with the Jaguars dealing with injuries in their defensive backfield, Hunter\u2019s versatility allows the coaching staff to adjust without sacrificing playmaking ability.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Shaping the Jaguars\u2019 Identity<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>As the Jaguars continue reshaping their identity under Coen, Hunter\u2019s role exemplifies the team\u2019s commitment to creativity and adaptability. His presence on defense could be a difference-maker in limiting big plays from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BurrJo01.htm?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-09-12_pfr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joe Burrow<\/a> and his talented receivers.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the move signals that Hunter is not just a novelty two-way player. Instead, he is becoming a critical part of the Jaguars\u2019 plans for both the present and the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter, the No. 2 overall pick, will see more defensive snaps vs the Bengals, showcasing his two-way talent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5630,"featured_media":242520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,36,6431],"tags":[8678,7335,7646,33134,32476],"class_list":["post-245908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jaguars","category-nfl-news","category-nfl-teams","tag-jacksonville-jaguars-featured","tag-jacksonville-jaguars-news","tag-jaguars-featured","tag-liam-coen","tag-travis-hunter"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5630"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245908"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246191,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245908\/revisions\/246191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}