One of the biggest topics of discussion in NFL circles this offseason is about rookie WR/CB Travis Hunter and the potential for him to be the league's first full-time two-way superstar of the modern era. Because nobody else has ever done it, there's plenty of doubt that Hunter will be able to.
Several former players have masqueraded on both sides of the ball, but they tended to play the majority of time at one position, with limited snaps on the other side. His college head coach at Colorado, Deion Sanders, is one example of that. Sanders is arguably the best cornerback in the history of the sport, but he got some offensive snaps because he was so good with the ball in his hands.
In college, Hunter was a full-time player on both sides of the ball. He averaged 118 snaps per game last season, and his two-way dominance led him to the Heisman Trophy. His goal is to replicate that in the NFL, a feat that will be even more Herculean than his ability to accomplish at the college level.
There are plenty of skeptics. You can count former NFL head coach Eric Mangini as another one.
Mangini spent 20 years coaching in the NFL, including two stints as a head coach with the New York Jets (2006-2008) and Cleveland Browns (2009-2010), amassing a career record of 33-47.
In a recent appearance on FS1's "First Things First," Mangini questioned Hunter's ability to withstand the grind of the NFL while playing on both sides of the ball:
"He's shown that he's built different, but there's a significant difference between college football and the NFL," said Mangini."You're adding the five games plus whatever you're playing in the preseason. The quality of players you're playing against is good every week."
Mangini disagrees with Travis Kelce's formula to stop Travis Hunter
To Mangini's credit, he did disagree completely with Travis Kelce's assessment on how NFL teams will attack Hunter when he's playing corner.
In an appearance on the "Breakfast Ball" podcast, Mangini questioned the tactic, especially if Hunter is placed on the other team's best WR:
“I don’t think that plan is necessarily going to work,” said Mangini. “It’s one of those things where, okay, if Travis Hunter is covering their best receiver, you’re going to tell your best receiver, ‘Hey, go run a go route all day. You’re a decoy. We’re not going to throw you the ball.’ You’re not going to know where he’s going to be defensively.”
How the Jaguars will use Hunter as a rookie will be one of the most interesting subplots of the NFL season. In OTAs, Hunter spent the majority of his time at WR, with limited snaps at CB. That could have just been to ease him into the grind of the professional game, or it could signal how Jacksonville plans to use him, at least early in his career.
It will be important to remember for fans that the Jaguars didn't draft Hunter for just his rookie season; they drafted him for at least the next four to five years and intend for him to be a cornerstone of the franchise. They aren't going to run him into the ground in year one. They will express caution and avoid throwing too much at him right away.