Shortly after being selected as the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner in January, Colorado Buffaloes star athlete Travis Hunter stated his interest in playing both offense and defense in the NFL.
The true junior evolved into one of the top blends of talent and intelligence in modern college football history in 2024, being named the country’s best wide receiver (Biletnikoff Award), top overall defender (Bednarik Award) and an Academic All-American to top off a campaign already etched in Boulder gold with a Heisman Trophy.
Hunter became the first player to ever win both the Biletnikoff and Bednarik awards, notching 1,258 receiving yards on 96 receptions for 15 touchdowns offensively (the latter two leading the Big-XII — which also houses Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan) while grabbing four interceptions and defending 11 passes on the boundary for the Buffaloes.
The FCS-born athletic prodigy followed head coach Deion Sanders from Jackson State to Boulder in 2023, producing two years of high-level tape in one of America’s best conferences for one of the game’s most seasoned two-side coaches.
Hunter logged 1,552 snaps in 2024 according to Pro Football Focus, a near 500-snap jump from his 1,074 mark in 2023.
Those 500 missed snaps in 2023? The product of a lacerated liver injury suffered in the Buffs’ rivalry game against Colorado State that sidelined the scintillating playmaker for three games in October.
Hunter’s lack of injury history and overall snap consistency (just twice in 2024 did Hunter log under 100 total snaps) have sculpted the storylines necessary to ask the question: can the electrifying wonderkid play both sides of the ball in the NFL?
Let’s explore, shall we?
Assessing the player; who is Travis Hunter?
Hunter’s slimmer frame raises concerns about his durability at the pro level. His 6-foot-0, 188-pound stature does open the true junior up to being knocked around by safeties crashing down from the box or by physical wide receivers boxing out while run blocking.
That’s about where Hunter’s weaknesses end. The electrifying two-way superstar is one of the most complete prospects in recent draft history, complete with top end-speed and elite elasticity as a route runner.
As a receiver, Hunter offers a surehanded catch-point presence and an adept understanding of the holes zone coverage. A powder keg after the catch, Hunter’s acceleration and breakaway ability can open another dimension of an NFL offense with the screen game. An excellent first step will help the Colorado product on both sides of the ball, pairing immediate acceleration with masterful mid-route slowdown capability.
As an athlete, Hunter can catalyze any offense and shift it into another gear.
Defensively, Hunter’s advanced spatial awareness and feel for his area is innate. Can (and oftentimes does) flip his hips freakishly fast to cover ground in zone coverage. Passes off the right routes and almost always bites on the correct one. An elite jump-ball winner that possesses rare hand-eye coordination, Hunter’s potential as an elite boundary corner is palpable through the film.
Assessing the logistics; what does it take to play both sides in the NFL?
Many have tried; most have failed. Going down the line of past two-way players who attempted to make the jump from the collegiate to professional level, you would see how many were relegated to one side of the ball or — in the most extreme cases — found themselves out of the league entirely within three years.
Of course, there are the notable examples like Devin Hester, Bednarik, Sanders and Charles Woodson who have gone against the grain and fruitfully played both sides in the NFL to etch a spot in the Hall of Fame — but a sample size of four in a league over a century old doesn’t speak highly of Hunter’s probability to dominate on both ends.
Patrick Ricard, Myles Jack and perhaps most notably Jabrill Peppers have all attempted to be ambidextrous in the NFL but were bounded by the exhausting, near 14-hour per day schedule that comes with playing two positions at once.
After Hunter is drafted (presumably in the top end of the first round), the Heisman winner will then have to attend rookie minicamp, OTAs, training camp, play in three preseason and 17 regular season games then possibly up to four postseason games to top it off.
Allow me to add that the average snaps per game in the NFL sits around 125-130. That’s an absolute maximum of 3,060 snaps per season if every game hits its average of 127.5 snaps — not counting overtime or sitting during the preseason.
That’s a lot of football for Hunter, who will already be at a frame disadvantage in comparison to most opposing cornerbacks/receivers on the perimeter.
The NFL does not have a limit on positional meeting times but is rigid in its practice regulations for the player’s safety. Can Hunter manage two position meetings — which may happen at the same time — get on the field to practice for multiple hours per day and then play 125 snaps per game each week?
Is anyone else tired just reading that?
I would like to remain optimistic on Hunter — who has been performing as a two-way superstar since high school — but the workload of an NFL schedule in conjunction with the physical toll the game takes on the body warrants concern for the super-Buffalo.
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