Travis Hunter is a once-in-a-generation talent waiting to be unleashed, and fans are poised to see his full potential when he hits the NFL in 2025. But his goals are pretty wild, even for someone as talented as him. The 21-year-old is looking to be a presence on both sides of the ball, something that no one’s ever pulled off.
Still, Hunter’s optimism is high, despite many NFL teams labeling him as WR1 and a handful labeling him as a cornerback. Former quarterback Chase Daniel recently chimed in, breaking down the possibilities for Hunter as a two-way player in the league.
NFL Vet Gets Real About Travis Hunter and His Ambitions
There’s nothing wrong with aspiring, but going down the lane with unrealistic dreams could hurt in the long run. Football experts believe it’s not feasible to play on offense and defense simultaneously in the pro league.
One of the biggest reasons is injuries. No coach would want their star player getting benched for the rest of the season after playing a bunch of initial games. It creates imbalances in the overall momentum of the team. While speaking on FS1, Chase Daniel explained that Hunter’s situation is complicated.
“Yes, he can play both ways. Will he? I don’t know. Should he? Who knows? It’s never been done. No one in the last 60 years has played both ways with different—not even Deion,” Daniel said.
“We’ve never seen a talent like Travis Hunter before play both ways. It’s never happened legitimately. My thing is that in the NFL, if you only play one position, think about chops. He’s played full-time receiver and full-time corner in college.”
Can Travis Hunter play both ways in the NFL? @ChaseDaniel weighs in 👀
“There should be a way where he can showcase his talent. The team that drafts him will have to play him both ways.” pic.twitter.com/3CorsbnkI7
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) February 26, 2025
“If you decide to play full time at corner, think about how much better he’s going to get just focusing on corner. Or if you’re the Browns and Andrew Berry, GM, says, ‘We see him as a unicorn. We think he’s a better receiver than he is a corner.’
“James, don’t you think if you play just receiver in the NFL, you don’t have to worry about all the skill and level of talent that it takes to play? You would be really good. That’s what’s crazy about it, and that’s why we’ve never seen a talent like this before,” he added.
Indeed, Hunter mentioned that he would leave it up to the teams how they want to utilize him, given there should be an option for him to play on both sides. Daniel believes Hunter could be a likely target for the New England Patriots or a franchise that looks to bolster its offense.