
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a plan that could reduce Brian Thomas Jr.’s drops: throw more to two-way rookie Travis Hunter.
Coach Liam Coen said Wednesday the Jaguars (4-2) would like to get Hunter more involved beginning Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams (4-2) at Wembley Stadium in London.
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“Our job as an offensive staff is to make sure we’re putting him in the progression and putting him in the position to be (target) No. 1 a little bit more often in some ways,” Coen said.
Jacksonville’s passing attack was designed to play through Thomas, who caught 87 passes for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie last season. But the former LSU standout has dropped six passes this season and short-armed at least three more attempts thrown over the middle.
Thomas has talent, no doubt, and the Jaguars are trying to help him work through whatever issues he’s dealing with that could be causing his inconsistency and hesitancy.
He set up go-ahead touchdowns with long receptions in wins against Houston and Kansas City. But he had crucial drops late in losses to Cincinnati and Seattle.
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Hunter, meanwhile, has played primarily in the slot in three-receiver sets. The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner from Colorado, the second overall draft pick in the NFL draft, has a knack for making tough catches and making defenders miss when he has the ball in his hands.
“I’ve just got to continue to be consistent for the quarterback and for the coaches so they can trust me more,” said Hunter, who is making his first visit to London.
He has 20 receptions for 197 yards while playing 63% of the team’s offensive snaps. He made a leaping catch between two defenders against Kansas City and an equally impressive one against Houston two weeks earlier. He was targeted twice more on plays that looked as if they would be touchdowns before defenders turned them into interceptions.
“When he is the primary, we’ve got to throw and catch,” Coen said. “We’ve got to make sure that we identify it, find him, be able to be at the right spot at the right time. … I think it’s a combination of a lot of those things that ultimately can all be controlled.”
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Finding the right usage for Hunter has been a challenge all season, especially with him splitting time between offense and defense. But the Jaguars agree that getting him more chances on offense is a much-needed next step.
“Sometimes we might not give him as many touches as we wanted to or we planned to, and the game just unfolds a little bit differently,” quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “That’s just football.
“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 5-yard passes into 25-yard gains because he’s so good with the ball in his hands.”
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