Just recently, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams voiced skepticism about Travis Hunter playing two ways for the Jacksonville Jaguars. His main argument was that he hadn't seen anyone do it before. Therefore, nobody can do it. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner may or may not have caught wind of the comments but still offered a rebuttal.
Hunter had a sitdown with Kay Adams ahead of the Week 1 preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and said that he doesn't pay attention to what people say about him.
"I don't care what people say. So just a lot of people gossiping about me, so I really don't care," Hunter told Adams. "I just let them do the talking, and that's their job. I'm not gonna stop anybody from earning their money."
Adams intercedes and argues that it's fascination rather than gossiping. However, Hunter doesn't agree, pointing out that it cannot be excitement if someone is trying to bring you down.
"It can't be excitement when you're talking down on somebody. I think the world is a better place when we are uplifting each other. So if you're telling somebody what they can't do just because you didn't do it, it's not right. So I just don't. I don't connect myself to none of those people. I just let them do what they do," Hunter says.
Hunter then told Adams that he's aware that people are invested in watching him fail, but he's tuned out the outside noise.
"It's stuff like that, personal life, and there's a lot of people just trying to take shots at me and see what I would do, but I'm just gonna be me, just be the happy kid that I've always been."
The second overall pick in the 2025 draft, Hunter is close to being the first player in the modern NFL era to play two ways full-time (or as close as possible. After lining up exclusively at receiver early in the offseason, he began to get reps at corner at mandatory minicamp. By training camp, the West Palm Beach native had started to practice on both sides of the ball the same day and will play two ways against the Steelers.
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Travis Hunter will play two ways for the Jaguars, even if Davante Adams doesn't believe it
Travis Hunter is right. Just because someone hasn't done something in the past doesn't mean somebody won't do it in the future. It's likely that NFL analysts or players don't think that he can play two ways for the Jacksonville Jaguars just because there's no precedent. The former Colorado Buffalo will show whether it's possible.
And if Hunter succeeds, more players will try to give it a shot. Granted, he's gifted from an athletic standpoint, but there will be other highly talented players who may have the skill set to pull it off.
The silver lining is that just like there are doubters, there are many analysts rooting for Travis Hunter. And he'll soon have the chance to validate their support.
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