Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen told reporters Thursday that his starters will see the field Saturday in the team's preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
That, of course, includes No. 2 overall pick and two-way star Travis Hunter, who Coen said will in fact play both ways versus the Steelers.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is taking a different approach. Longtime Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin announced an extensive list of starters who will be healthy scratches for the exhibition. That group includes quarterback Aaron Rodgers; wide receiver DK Metcalf; tight ends Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth; running back Jaylen Warren; cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr. and Darius Slay; defensive end Cameron Heyward and linebacker T.J. Watt, among others.
"It has nothing to do with injury," Tomlin said. "They need less runway to take off, to be quite honest with you. Because of their experience and where they are in their careers, oftentimes I preserve them through this process while providing more opportunity for those that need more preparation or more opportunity to display their talents and so forth."
While fans will have to wait to see what Rodgers looks like in the Pittsburgh offense, it looks like they'll get a glimpse of Hunter on both sides of the ball.
Hunter, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, is listed as a starting wideout and backup cornerback on the Jaguars' first first unofficial depth chart, which the team released Monday.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound phenom is coming off a prolific final season at Colorado, where he played 753 snaps on offense, 776 on defense and 23 more on special teams, according to Pro Football Focus. In the process, he caught 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns, plus ran for one additional score. At cornerback, he picked off four passes and notably forced a fumble that clinched an overtime victory against Baylor.
During training camp, Jacksonville eased Hunter into practicing both positions, allowing him time to fully focus on each playbook before playing two ways in the same day.
Coen went on the "The Rich Eisen Show" on Monday and suggested 80% of the Jags' offensive snaps as a potential game-by-game target for Hunter this season, with the hope of trying to match that snap percentage on defense as well.
"We've done more offense because that was where more of the development was necessary," Coen said. "It's so much more natural [for him] to just go walk out on the field and play corner. That's what he's done. He can go do that. Now, there's a lot of checks, there's a lot of calls, there's a lot of different things that go to that. But offensively, we felt like there was a little bit more development that was necessary, and it's a lot more ball — just a lot more scheme and words and calls.
"Every single day is completely packed, from the moment that he arrives to the moment he leaves, with making sure that he his meeting with somebody at all times."
Eisen proposed that Hunter could even win both NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards this season, and Coen agreed that "it's possible."
That journey officially begins in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers.
But Saturday's preseason game against the Steelers will provide a sneak peek.
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