Colorado star Travis Hunter plans to play both offense and defense in the NFL. The idea of being pigeonholed to one position might force the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner to consider walking away from football.
"It's never playing football again," Hunter recently told CBS Sports if it were suggested he could only play one position. "Because I've been doing it my whole life, and I love being on the football field. I feel like I could dominate on each side of the ball, so I really enjoy doing it."
It's a strong message to any team that is considering drafting the dynamite two-way player. The question is whether the threat -- however veracious -- could make a club reconsider drafting him if it prefers he only plays one side. He didn't suggest he must play both positions full-time. He could be primarily a wide receiver or cornerback while moonlighting on the other side of the ball for a package of plays.
Hunter played 713 snaps on offense and 748 on defense in 2024, a hefty slate. The hybrid corner/receiver cited the NFL being a slow game -- with an average of roughly 35 seconds between snaps -- and the minimal contact at the positions he plays as reasons he could excel at both spots.
"I just feel very confident in myself, and I got a competitive spirit that I can do whatever I put my mind to, and I feel like I can do it," he said.
Giants general manger Joe Schoen, who holds the No. 3 overall pick, was asked on Wednesday about Hunter's comments.
"Travis is a unique individual," Schoen said. "He's fun to watch. It's unique that -- the ball skills, the route ability and the ability to go on the other side and play corner. You just don't see that very often. A lot of times, if these guys can't catch or play receiver then they get moved to DB. This guy can do it all. He's a great kid. It would be hard to keep him off the field. He's motivated to play both ways. You always worry about the length of the season with 17 games. … He's a unique athlete that I think he'll be able to do both."
Schoen added: "Would not be afraid to play him on both sides of the ball."
It could be difficult for Hunter to master two positions out of the gate, including participating in both position group rooms. Would he primarily be in the CB or WR room if the two meetings overlap? Would splitting time benefit the player and the rest of the roster?
These are unique questions that Hunter's unicorn-type talent sparks. Making the media rounds ahead of next week's draft, which begins April 24, Hunter told NBC Sports' Chris Simms that many teams don't know how to handle him.
"It's a lot of teams that don't know what to do with me," Hunter said. "They've seen me do it at the college level. Nobody actually thought I'd be able to do it at the college level, so everybody is amazed that I've done it for this long and I've done it at a high level. So a lot of teams don't really know what they're going to do with me. I think the first day in the building, they're gonna see how much I can handle, and see what I can take in, and see how I perform."
Hunter is projected to be a top-five draft pick, so only a handful of clubs -- those already at the top of the draft or anyone willing to trade up -- need to consider how they might deal with the dual threat. In eight days, we'll know which specific team will need to be asked how they'll handle Hunter's talents.
