Travis Hunter is hoping to become the first pure two-way sensation in the NFL.
Selected with the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up, Hunter has been listed as a first-team wide receiver on the Jags’ depth chart.
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Travis Hunter is hoping to become the NFL’s first true two-way starCredit: Getty
However, he has also been listed as a back-up cornerback, suggesting that he will realize his dream of playing on both sides of the ball in the NFL, while also offering a small glimpse into where the team thinks his strengths currently lie.
The former five-star recruit from the Colorado Buffaloes took college football by storm with his freakish athleticism and elite playing level as both a receiver and a cornerback.
Davante Adams doesn’t believe Hunter will be able to play both sides
But NFL veteran Davante Adams, who is currently with the Los Angeles Rams, doesn’t think that it will be ‘possible’ for Hunter to be an elite contributor on both sides of the ball in the long-term, due to the extremely heavy workload and heightened injury risk.
“I don’t even think it is possible to do for real, not at a high level,” Adams said on The Pivot Podcast. “It’s hard enough to go cover a punt and then be on one side, and I haven’t done it.
“I’m not acting like I’m gonna kick off a punt, but I can see the duels, and I know you got your guys and you see my yardage over the game versus somebody that starts on offense and then plays special teams as well.
“That’s just a lot of mileage, man, and I don’t know how long, I’m not even concerned so much if he can do it over the course of a game or a season. It’s more like how long is his career gonna be if he’s playing that many snaps, because all you’re doing is doubling your risk for injury, one, and I don’t wish any of that on him.
“I hope that he can plan an injury-free season and go ball out, but I mean, it’s just the reality. The more you are on the field, I mean, it’s already a 100 percent injury guarantee.
“Once you get out there playing both sides and now you’ve got to tackle, you’ve got to tackle Derrick Henry with that frame. He’s athletic as hell, but that athleticism, he better do some ninja s*** if he wanna use that to get him down. It’s a lot of football to play.”
Having spent over a decade playing in the league and played in 164 games, Adams knows firsthand the toll that playing as a receiver takes on the body.
But the 2024 Heisman winner wants to be given the opportunity to show that he can do it all at the highest level, much like that of MLB and Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, who is both a leadoff batter and pitcher.
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Adams thinks it’ll be impossible for Hunter to play both sides of the ball in the NFLCredit: Youtube/ @thepivotpodcast
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The Jaguars have listed Hunter as a starting WR, but a backup CBCredit: Getty
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Ohtani is the MLB’s dual-threat superstar, something Hunter wants to be in the NFLCredit: Getty
But Adams isn’t the only NFL star to have doubts about Hunter being able to play both on offense and defense, with Kansas City Chiefs veteran tight end Travis Kelce also voicing some concerns.
“Both sides? That’s the thing, I don’t know how they’re going to divvy it out,” Kelce said on an appearance on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast.
“I don’t know, because teams are going to be going after him. They’re gonna try and make his day miserable.
“If he plays corner, they’re gonna run deep balls at him all day. They’re gonna run the wide receivers, just take off on him all day, just to try to get him tired. Why wouldn’t you just attack him that way?”
At Colorado, the 22-year-old played 713 snaps on offense, in which he had 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 16 total touchdowns.
On defense, he played 748 snaps, in which he had four interceptions, 35 tackles, 11 pass breakups and one forced fumble.
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Travis Hunter gets emotional message from father after being drafted by Jacksonville Jaguars
After being drafted, the Jaguars rookie signed a four-year contract worth $46.6 million, including a $30.6 million signing bonus.
So far through the early stages of training camp, he has impressed his new team on the practice field, having gotten reps with both the offensive and defensive units.
But doing so in college, and training camp, is vastly different from doing so in the NFL. That is why the league has seen only very few to ever attempt it at the professional level, with none ever doing so on a consistent season-long basis.
Nonetheless, Hunter is determined to prove critics wrong and not only become the first two-way player in the NFL, but a superstar in his own right.
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