Jaguars will play all starters in preseason opener, including Travis Hunter both ways

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen says he plans to play all his starters in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Steelers.

“We will play everybody,” Coen said.

That includes rookie second overall pick Travis Hunter, who will play on both offense and defense. Although the Jaguars have said they don’t want to throw too much at Hunter, Coen made clear that he wants Hunter to get some reps at both wide receiver and cornerback.

Coen said the team’s veteran leaders, including quarterback Trevor Lawrence and center Robert Hainsey, wanted to get some full-speed work in this preseason. Coen said Hainsey was one of the most vocal players about the importance of the team getting reps together in the preseason.

“He was one of the guys that kind of convinced me,” Coen said of Hainsey. “He came in the weight room on his day off, we talked about it — he wanted to play, a lot of the guys want to play.”

Coen is a new head coach with a new staff, and on Saturday fans will get their first chance to see what the Jaguars’ new offense and defense look like. As well as their first chance to see last year’s Heisman Trophy winner play on both offense and defense in the NFL.