Liam Coen to Pull Off Surprising Travis Hunter Move After Announcing Decision on Jaguars Rookie

Liam Coen is known for igniting his players into top gear with his unique approach. He had done it in the past with Baker Mayfield, who completed the last season with a career best 41 touchdown passes after ending the 2023 season with just 28. Now that the offensive guru is leading the Jaguars as a head coach, he is again digging into his bag of innovative schemes. This time, in his deck of surprises, the next draw is Travis Hunter.

Since taking over as  Jaguar’s coach, Coen has been working closely with the team’s QB Trevor Lawrence, and he even suggested that fixing his footwork can help the star QB fix his game. Additionally, he has been working to prioritize both culture and communication within the team, adopting the FAST (Fundamentally sound, Attacking, Situational masters, and Tough) mentality. But this is not it, the HC has one more master stroke up his sleeve, and it is related to Travis Hunter. 

No doubt, Hunter’s ability to play on both sides will have an impact on the Jaguars’ game-day roster. His two-way playing ability requires a new approach for the roster. Hence, Liam Coen, who believes in the player, is planning to move with an approach of evaluation. “I think we’ll have a good AAR [after action report] about it after to really look at, alright, was that the best plan? How do we look at it for next off season and how does that look like for next training camp. Maybe now is not the time to have that, but that’s what we will do and kind of reevaluate how he handles a game plan on both sides of the ball because so much of it’s going to be training camp plays,” Coen said.

Travis Hunter, who has been a two-way player even before being drafted to the NFL, is now expected to continue this role in the Jaguars as well. Although he was earlier listed as starting WR and backup CB, he will now have a sprinkle of defensive training as well. The chart, which alternates between two days of offense and one day of defense training, has been drafted for Hunter to maintain a balanced approach.

GM James Gladstone made it clear it wasn’t about choosing wide receiver over corner, just about teaching him step by step. By the time camp wrapped up, Hunter was practicing both roles, even while managing an upper-body injury that cost him two preseason games. Still, his talent was too strong to sideline. Now heading into Week 1, the workload looks heavier on offense, but Hunter has trained to handle both, so defensive snaps will be part of the mix too. And by playing both ways, he will become the first player to do so in the last six decades of NFL seasons.

Travis Hunter’s shift to secondary can help the Jaguars perform better 

The WR/CB 2-Way Plan for Hunter, drafted by the Jaguars, is something that the current generation has never seen before. The last time a two-way player stepped on the gridiron was back in 1962, when the Hall of Fame center and linebacker Chuck Bednarik played for the Philadelphia Eagles. But now, with Hunter, this can work in Jaguar’s favor in many ways. 

As explained by Tom Pelissero on The Rich Eisen Show, Hunter playing both ways can keep the opposition in a state of confusion. While the opposition is building a strategy around taking down Hunter in the offensive line, he can be locked in the defense, ruining the entire game plan.  

Furthermore, the opponent’s strategy to tire out the two-way player can be tackled by putting him in critical situations, such as third down, the red zone, the two-minute drill, and the end of the game. So every strategy opponent will build around Hunter is expected to work in the Jaguars’ favor. But the coach has to make sure that the young star isn’t pushed too far, as it can lead to injuries due to a heavy workload. 

Liam Coen is proving himself worthy of the fame and history that follows him. And this time, moving into the NFL season, the head coach can turn Colorado’s two-way star, Travis Hunter, into his dynamic weapon who will keep the opponent’s strategies in a state of dilemma throughout the season. This also makes it clear to Hunter that there isn’t going to be offense-first or defense-first; he will be moving into the new season with a balanced approach, which he is used to do in his college days.