Travis Hunter expressed his desire to remain a full-time two-way player during a media availability at the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday.
“I’d like to play both sides of the ball,” Hunter told reporters. “If they give me the opportunity to play both sides of the ball, I’m going to play both sides.”
The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner said he would meet with some teams as a receiver and meet with others as a defensive back at the combine. While he knows his future team will dictate where he plays, Hunter said he can play both ways.
“I’ve been doing it for a long time. Don’t see why I can’t continue,” Hunter said.
While players have tested both offensive and defensive positions in college, none have done it at Hunter’s level of success. The 21-year-old tallied 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 TDs as a receiver in 13 games, leading the Big 12 in receptions and receiving touchdowns. On the defense side, Hunter had 36 tackles, 11 passes defensed and four interceptions.
“They say nobody has ever done it for real the way I do it,” Hunter said. “I tell them I’m just different. I am a different person.”
Travis Hunter wants to play WR and CB in the league. 👀
📺: #NFLCombine on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/ASFO5xa9Oh— NFL (@NFL) February 27, 2025
Earlier in the week, the two teams at the top of the 2025 NFL Draft — the Tennessee Titans (who hold the No. 1 pick) and the Cleveland Browns (No. 2 pick) — shared their differing views of where they see Hunter’s starting position. Hunter is in the conversation to be the top pick and called it “super important” and “one of my dreams” to go No. 1.
“He probably starts at corner, and then you find ways to inject him into the offense as he gets more comfortable,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said Tuesday. “But I think corner is probably his starting point, in my opinion. You might get varying opinions on that, but then I think he has a real role as a receiver.”
Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry agreed that there is a role for Hunter to do both, but he sees Hunter’s primary spot differently.
“We see him as a receiver primarily first, but again what makes him a bit of a unicorn is the fact he can do both at a high level,” Berry said.
Hunter said he can handle the workload of both positions at the NFL level, citing how he takes care of his body and the pace of the game.
“I feel like I put my body through a lot. I do a lot of treatment. People don’t get to see that part of what I do for my body to make sure I am 100 percent each game. I feel like I can do it because nobody has done it, and I know I can do it. I did at the college level, which you rarely get breaks (in the game), and there’s a lot more breaks in the NFL.”
— The Athletic’s James Boyd and Zac Jackson contributed to this story
Required reading
(Photo: Ed Zurga/ Getty Images)
