Hunter's Snap Count About to Climb: Jacksonville Signals Major Role Expansion

Travis Hunter will get meaningful additional offensive snaps Sunday against the Patriots, Jacksonville head coach Liam Coen confirmed Wednesday. Through two games, the Jaguars' star pass-catcher has touched the ball just twice—one catch for 8 yards, one carry for 3 yards—on a meager 11 offensive snaps total. That scarcity ends now. After managing only 13 points in a Week 2 loss to Denver, Coen publicly acknowledged the offense needs a structural overhaul, and Hunter's expanded deployment is the most direct tool available.

The snap-count constraint through two weeks appears tactical rather than scheme-related. Hunter logged four snaps against Cleveland (a 34-10 rout where the game script allowed limited experimentation) and seven against Denver. His defensive workload has been steady—62 snaps across both games—suggesting the Jaguars were testing his availability and conditioning post-injury before committing him to a heavier offensive role. The 2024 Heisman Trophy finalist averaged 67% offensive snap participation last season before a knee injury ended his 2025 campaign early, establishing clear baseline volume expectation once fully reintegrated.

Coen's framing—"we're going to look at giving him some more this week"—sidesteps exact snap targets but signals genuine intent. An offense averaging 16.5 points through two games cannot ignore a receiver who produced 28 catches for 298 yards and a TD in his first seven games last season. Hunter's receiving upside is no longer theoretical; it's proven across a full NFL season and now at risk of being massively underutilized relative to his caliber. The Patriots, allowing 268 receiving yards per game, present minimal defensive resistance to a receiving volume spike.

For prop bettors, the critical variable is whether this marks a one-week adjustment or the beginning of sustained elevation. The language—"continuing to find different ways to get him involved"—leans toward the latter. If Hunter's offensive snaps climb from 5.5 per game to 15-20 per game this week, his receiving yards line (currently likely set in the 20-35 range given historical volume) becomes a concrete exploit. A player of his caliber with 15+ snaps in a sub-defensive-strength matchup should consistently land in the 40-60 receiving yards band, especially given his TD upside. The market has almost certainly not priced for this volume shift—the open numbers will reflect his first two games, not his last season's role. Early booking before the line hardens becomes essential.

Watch the pregame snap counts closely. If Hunter exceeds 20 offensive snaps (a realistic target given Coen's stated intent and the offense's need for playmaking), receiving yards and anytime TD props become high-value early-week targets.