JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Dave from Canada
Hi, John. If Hunter continues to struggle, or at least not be much of a difference-maker on either side of the ball, do you think efforts will be made to reduce the number of snaps on offense or defense and just focus on one side of the ball? Thanks.
Rookie wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter as expected remains one of the Jaguars' most-discussed storylines, and it's perhaps unsurprising he remains one of the team's most misunderstood storylines early. Hunter through three games is not "struggling" – and while he has not had as many "splash" plays as many fans want, he's playing at a high level on defense and seems well on his way to being an elite, "playmaking" cornerback. He hasn't had game-breaking plays on offense, but I expect that to change – and I expect him to be more involved offensively as the season continues. I do not remotely believe the Jaguars will make "efforts" to reduce his snaps on other side of the ball. There seems a weird narrative outside the team that Hunter playing both offense and defense is a short-term thing or an "experiment," and that there is a possibility the franchise may say, "Well, we tried. Let's move on." This ain't that. The Jaguars selected Hunter No. 2 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft because they believe he will be a special player at receiver and cornerback. That remains the belief as much now as it was in April. We're three games into this. Let it play out.
Tucker from Nashville, TN
Hey, John. Can we get Strange more touches? Literally a quarterback's best friend apart from a strong running game. He is our most consistent player on offense.
Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange has been very reliable, and I expect he will continue to get five or six targets per game – maybe a few more depending on game circumstances. I don't know that you ideally want this offense running through Strange or any other tight end significantly more than that.
Nic from Raleigh, NC
I don't think you can say that Travis Hunter has not made a positive impact on defense. I think the fact that we did not hear his name much means he covered well. Isn't that the best thing for a defensive back?
Quite often.
Don from Marshall, NC
Some people said I had a chance at rapture, but I am still here. How about you? I don't feel too bad about it. I get to watch the Jaguars beat the 49ers this week! Go Jaguars!
When it comes to doing whatever this was, and to being confident entering the Jaguars' game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Don remains "all in."
JT from Palm Coast, FL
How is Dyami Brown doing? The entire wide receiver corps has the drops, but he has become the security blanket. Hope he's not gone for a long period of time.
Jaguars wide receiver Dyami Brown did not practice Wednesday after sustaining a shoulder injury against the Houston Texans last Sunday. I get a feeling there's a decent chance Brown could play Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, but that's a gut feeling and not a fact. Stay tuned.
BillyG in Jax Beach, FL
I applauded the move to trade up and draft Travis Hunter. I've been excited all summer to see how we would use him and what he could do in the league. And now three games in and he has had only one flash play – his catch and run last week in the second half against Houston. I'm trying to be patient, but don't you think we should have seen more from him considering how much draft capital he cost us? Do you believe the coaching staff are pleased with his progress and performance thus far?
Three games is not "patience" during a rookie season. The coaching staff is very, very pleased with Hunter's progress thus far.
Bill from Jacksonville, FL
John, when it's on the Jags, I'll say it's on the Jags. These "illegal shift" penalties are just being officiated incorrectly. The Jaguars do not have two players in motion at once, they are waiting until a player is set before the other goes in motion. They're not moving forward but lateral to the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped. The team should send these into the league office, they're being called wrong, and they're clearly a staple of HC Liam Coen's offense.
A few of the illegal shift penalties called on the Jaguars this season have been really close calls, close enough that such penalties aren't always called around the NFL. The Jaguars, as is the case with all NFL teams, routinely send questionable calls into the league office.
Fred from Naples, FL
Every time I watch and listen to Liam Coen in a press conference I learn something. As a fan of the Jags since their inception I have never heard a head coach so transparent. In his press conference on Monday, when he was speaking of all the drops, he actually went through some of the things that cause drops – particularly not letting the football cross both of your eyes before you catch it. That was really good stuff. This guy is impressive.
Coen is a high-end communicator, and he's relatively rare among NFL head coaches in being willing to be as open as he is with the media – and therefore with fans. He does have a knack for describing relatively complex football complex with clarity. This absolutely helps fans grasp the game, and guess what? It helps the players he's coaching, too.
Paul from St. Augustine, FL
I just watched Coach Coen's postgame locker room speech to the team. What a difference a year makes! Three games in and the feel around this team seems to have flipped 180 degrees. If the starters stay relatively healthy and the offense manages to work out the kinks, this will be a fun year! It's been a while since Jags' football has been fun!
Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen clearly has this roster believing in itself. The players clearly believe in his direction and have believed in it all season. It's a different vibe that could make this season veeeeeery interesting moving forward.
Josh from Atlanta, GA
Other than just getting better, what do you see as key areas of focus for the coaching staff in practice this week?
Catching the ball and continuing to reduce penalties.
Alan from Reno
I notice in a lot of games the play clock hits zero and what could be a delay of game is usually a judgement call, I understand that when it does hit zero there is a full second that needs to be accounted for (given there are decimals like on a stop clock) but sometimes it is a looooooooong second, my question is why don't they just make the play clock 41 seconds so when it hits zero it is a delay of game 100 percent of the time without judgement.
This one goes to 11.
Paul from Danford Lake, Québec
Could it be that the Texans allowed Travis to score during the last drive?
We're looking ahead because it's past Wednesday, but I've received enough of these emails that there seems to be confusion. Let there be no confusion: Yes, the Texans allowed Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. to score the winning touchdown with 1:48 remaining in the Jaguars' 17-10 victory at EverBank Stadium last Sunday. It was debatable whether that was the right decision, and it was a close enough situation where you could debate both sides. But that was the decision.
Henry Florahome
When the game is winding down, please advise Thomas to stay in bounds and ETN might think about taking a knee at the one. In a game of inches, it might matter on any given Sunday.
As mentioned, we're looking ahead. But these two players have received enough undue criticism in this vein that I'll address it. First, wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. was trying to score on his 46-yard reception on which he was forced out of bounds at the Texans 10. And while that decision probably will get criticized, remember: The NFL is a fast-paced game and Thomas is a fast player. Most of the people criticizing never have moved that fast, and therefore don't realize that it's difficult to even consider going out of bounds when you're running that fast with another person also running that fast and you're thinking if you outrun that person you can go along way toward winning the game. Regarding Etienne … Head Coach Liam Coen addressed this Monday. The Texans at the time had two timeouts with 1:48 remaining. Had they had one timeout, it would have made clear sense for Etienne not to score. Because they had two, it wasn't a mistake to score. This was borderline enough that you could have argued either way, but the Jaguars didn't do the wrong thing by scoring there.
Graham from Reading UK
Why does Trevor keep dropping all these passes?
He's sneaky that way.
