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Travis Hunter stays patient as Jacksonville Jaguars find ways to get him the ball
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- Travis Hunter stays patient as Jacksonville Jaguars find ways to get him the ball
Travis Hunter 's spotlight remains bright, but that doesn't mean the Jacksonville Jaguars ' second-overall pick is growing impatient.
"It is very important for me to be patient. Just got to let the game come to me, coach is trying to dial up a couple things for me and I just got to continue to just work and just having the guys trust me because I'm doing my job every time. So, I've just got to continue to do my job," Hunter told media members Wednesday in London ahead of the team's Week 7 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams at Wembley Stadium .
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Hunter later added that it's a team sport, and his job is to help the team win by any means necessary.
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"Not to be selfish and just continue to be consistent and win games the best way we could," he added.
Since being selected by the Jaguars in the 2025 NFL Draft , Hunter has become a rookie sensation, but not necessarily because he's playing beyond his draft position on either side of the ball. No, Hunter's spotlight has grown because outside observers are growing impatient or waiting to see the entire plan come together for the unicorn of a player.
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Hunter was adamant during the pre-draft process that he wanted to play both receiver and cornerback in the league, the same as he did in his two years at Colorado. The Jaguars kept his wishes, and Hunter has played 63% (257 snaps) and 39% (148 snaps) on offense and defense, respectively.
His success on the defensive side of the ball is slowly being recognized, too.
Recently, Hunter became the first player in 20 years of Pro Football Focus data to earn a Top-5 team grade at both receiver and defensive in Week 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs .
But through six games, Hunter has accounted for just 20 catches for 197 yards on offense, a far cry from producing at what many expect to be the bar for a player taken in the top five, regardless of his unique skillset and plan in Jacksonville to play on both sides of the ball.
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Liam Coen finding ways to get Travis Hunter the football
Hunter's lack of major production on the offensive side of the ball isn't by choice. The Jaguars have tried in various ways to get Hunter the football.
In Week 1, Hunter had eight targets, and while those targets haven't necessarily remained consistent every week, his seven targets last week against the Seahawks show the Jaguars aren't giving up on featuring him.
On Wednesday, Coen was asked about getting Hunter involved to give the team more explosive plays and offered guidance on what the team can and has been doing to accomplish that.
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"I think it's obviously, scheming him open is part of it, No. 1. It is my job, ultimately. Our job as an offensive staff to make sure we're putting him in the progression and putting him in the position to be No. 1 a little bit more often in some ways," Coen said.
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen looks to the video scoreboard with wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football matchup, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Seahawks defeated the Jaguars 20-12.
"And then when he is the primary, we've got to throw and catch. We've got to make sure that we identify it, find him, be able to be at the right spot at the right time — we just had this conversation. So, I think it's a combination of a lot of those things that ultimately can all be controlled."
Hunter currently ranks second on the team in targets behind Brian Thomas Jr. (48) with 31. Still, the success rate when throwing him the football is eighth on the team at 38.7%, according to Pro Football Reference.
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Receiving success rate is defined as a "successful reception [that] gains at least 40% of yards required on first down, 60% of yards required on second down and 100% on third or fourth down," according to PFR.
That means, Hunter's targets are more often than not resulting in a play that's not deemed overly successful based on the down and distance and how many yards Hunter got as a result of the catch.
Still, that doesn't mean the Jaguars will force-feed him the ball.
"We can't always say the ball's going to get thrown to one person based on any play unless it's just they're spitting it to them and giving them a ball-in-hand touch. Down the field, there's elements to that, especially when you're not getting a lot of one-on-one man coverage, which last week in Seattle was all shell, cover-two, soft, kind of letting nothing get behind them," Coen explained.
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"So that's got to be a little bit predicated on what we're seeing but also making sure we're doing our jobs as coaches. And he's doing his job to be in the right spot at the right time and Trevor's able to deliver it because it's great protection . It takes all 11."
Why Trevor Lawrence remains bullish on Travis Hunter
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) runs a route as quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) looks to pass during an NFL training camp session at the Miller Electric Center, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrenceis cognizant of what Hunter can do when he gets the ball in his hands. But, finding the balance between what Hunter has to do on game days and what the offense can do on a down-by-down basis might be delicate.
"He's a great corner, he is a great receiver and I think trying to find the right way to use him is something that we're always looking to do every week. And sometimes it looks different and sometimes we might not give him as many touches as we wanted to or we plan to and the game just unfolds a little bit differently and that's just football," Lawrence said in London on Wednesday.
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"That just happens, but it's definitely something that we are consistently trying to do because I think we've all seen how special he is when he gets the opportunities downfield or just catches the ball underneath and can make people miss and turn those five-yard passes into 25-yard gains because he's so good with the ball in his hands."
To Lawrence's last point, Hunter has forced eight missed tackles this season, tied for fifth in the league among all wideouts, per PFF.
Lawrence continued to agree with the reporter's assertion that Hunter's explosiveness are part of the evolution of the team's offense. The more improvement the team has in throwing the ball, in general, the better the opportunities could be for Hunter.
Through six games, there's no reason to panic, and all the reason to bubble over with anticipation.
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Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky @ Demetrius .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Travis Hunter should get more touches in Jacksonville Jaguars offense
