(Reuters) – Travis Hunter, determined to play both offense and defense, made it clear well before the NFL Draft that he would quit football before being pigeonholed into one position, and it appears the dual threat will get his chance with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Hunter, whose versatility has led to comparisons with Major League Baseball standout Shohei Ohtani, was taken with the second selection of the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday after the Jaguars traded up to get the pick from the Browns.
“They have been talking to me since the combine so I’m super excited to be able to go back home and play for an organization that thought I was worthy of trading up and getting,” he told ESPN.
“They told me they were going to let me go out there and do what I do,” he said when asked what conversations he had with the Jaguars about what role he would play.
“They put me on the phone with both coordinators so I’m just going to go out there and do what I can do.”
Hunter was perhaps the most unique prospect available having excelled in college as both a big-play wide receiver on offense and lockdown cornerback on defense.
He even won the Heisman Trophy last December as college football’s most outstanding player for the 2024 season during which his snaps with the Colorado Buffaloes were split almost evenly between offense and defense.
An exciting two-way player whose world-class athleticism and ball skills have helped him shine on both sides of the ball, the 21-year-old Hunter is an instinctive, natural football player with a feel for making the biggest plays at the biggest times.
When meeting with interested NFL teams ahead of Thursday’s draft, Hunter made it clear he wanted to continue playing both sides of the ball as a professional.
So passionate is Hunter about playing offense and defense in the NFL that he made a bold proclamation when asked what he would do if a team would only allow him to either play as a receiver or cornerback.
“It’s never playing football again,” Hunter told CBS Sports in early April. “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.”
On offense, Hunter led the Big 12 conference during the 2024 regular season with 92 receptions and 14 receiving touchdowns while finishing second with 1,152 receiving yards.
Defensively, Hunter had 31 tackles last season with Colorado along with 11 pass breakups, four interceptions, a conference-best 15 passes defended and forced a game-winning fumble.
Transferring those two-way skills to the NFL on a full-time basis could prove a monumental task given all the meetings and time spent game planning that is specific to each position group on an NFL team.
Given receivers command bigger paydays, it is entirely possible Hunter ultimately commits to a primary position and then allows his new team to use him selectively on the other side of the ball.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, Additional reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Michael Perry)
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