Bengals may be facing Travis Hunter at the worst possible time in Week 4

Jacksonville Jaguars two-way dynamo Travis Hunter may not quite be living up to his billing as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but he's just starting to ascend ahead of Week 4's matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Hunter had a rough rookie campaign, where the Jags seemingly struggled to place him whilst figuring how best to divide his snaps between wide receiver and cornerback. It culminated in a torn LCL ligament last October that cut his debut NFL season short.

That didn't stop the Jags from winning 13 games and the AFC South title. And mind you, those 13 wins came with a loss at Paycor Stadium to the Bengals in Week 2.

A late pass interference penalty on Hunter set up Jake Browning's game-winning touchdown in that tightly contested 31-27 affair. All indications are it'll be a far different story this time around.

Hunter is red-hot after first career INT vs. Drake 'The Schedule' Maye

Travis Hunter is right up there with Derek Stingley Jr. among my favorite cornerback prospects of all-time. Hunter's background as a wide receiver gives him absurd ball skills, which were on full display in Week 3 when he intercepted Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in the Jags' 35-6 win:

Maye probably thought he was safe to throw that high back-five ball with Hunter's back facing him. However, that's what makes Hunter's instincts, football IQ, and ball skills so unique.

Joe Burrow isn't going to put the ball in harm's way like that, and it sure helps to have the likes of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to throw to. That said, Jacksonville is unique in that Hunter doesn't have to play every single snap. That defense rotates a platoon of capable cornerbacks to keep everybody fresh.

I don't know of many other teams (any?) who can play three different boundary cornerbacks in Hunter, Jarrian Jones, and Montaric Brown without batting an eye or the unit missing a beat. That's quite a contrast to the beat-up state of Cincinnati's secondary.

PS, sorry to Maye about "The Schedule" nickname mention but I can't help myself. Any excuse I have to bring up the Year 2 Maye vs. Year 2 Joe Burrow narrative, I'm gonna capitalize.

Sunday will be the stiffest test the Jags' No. 1 scoring defense has faced to date. However, they just humiliated the reigning AFC champions. And their 34-10 rout of the Browns in Week 1 looks more impressive in retrospect given that Cleveland has won back-to-back games.

Jaguars could add a wrinkle to their offense to exploit Bengals' thin secondary

I wish I could say defense was the only side of the ball the Bengals have to worry about Travis Hunter on. That is not the case.

That banged up Bengals secondary I mentioned? Cincinnati safeties Kyle Dugger and Bryan Cook were hobbled after the loss at Pittsburgh. Starting nickelback Jalen Davis is headed to injured reserve. Not ideal when you're about to face a premier offensive mind in Jags head coach Liam Coen.

All indications before Week 3 were that Hunter would play significantly more on offense after seeing little action there.

Although it didn't come to pass versus the Pats, that was in part because Jacksonville was beating them so badly. With the Bengals' cornerback corps so vulnerable, the climate is ripe for Coen to deploy Hunter at receiver and give Cincinnati yet another weapon to account for.

The Jags already pose a serious challenge with one of the league's most explosive tailbacks in Bhayshul Tuten, and a trio of capable wideouts in Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers and Brian Thomas Jr.

It's wild that BTJ is the clear third banana after putting up 1,282 yards and 10 TDs as a rookie. That's how stacked Jacksonville is skill-wise. Hunter not playing as much on offense to date isn't some indictment of him or an indication that he can't play. Coen is just being smart about picking his spots on where to use him.

Welp. Given the insider buzz from last week and how this game figures to be much tighter, not only will Hunter make life difficult for the Bengals' passing attack, but he could very well make a game-breaking play on offense.

Now you can probably see why the Bengals facing Travis Hunter at this particular point in time gives me some bad vibes...

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