Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter will make his preseason debut tonight against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hunter has excelled on both sides of the ball since high school and has long dreamed of continuing that in the NFL. He will take snaps at both wide receiver and cornerback, entering the game listed as WR1 and CB2 on the latest depth chart.
Plenty of NFL voices have weighed in on the challenge ahead. Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams, speaking on The Pivot, said, “I don’t think it’s possible to do for real… not at a high level.” Adams noted the physical demand, adding that even covering a punt before playing on one side is taxing enough. He acknowledged players have lined up on both offense and defense, but few have done it full time at a high level.
Patrick Ricard is one example. He played both fullback and defensive end early in his career, but shifted exclusively to offense in 2020 and did not maintain high level play on both sides. Then there is Deion Sanders, Hunter’s college coach at Jackson State and Colorado, who is often used as the gold standard for two way success and for excelling in another professional sport. Sanders was an exception. In his 14 NFL seasons, he did not take regular snaps on both sides every year. He only surpassed seven receptions once, in 1996, when he posted 36 catches for 475 yards while playing consistent offensive snaps.
The Jaguars are beginning a new chapter under first time head coach Liam Coen, a former offensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams. In a recent conversation with Rich Eisen, Coen confirmed Hunter’s role: “It’s absolutely happening… this spring was a great learning curve for us where you have got to have everybody on board. Everybody in the building was on board with how do we get the best out of Travis’s days.”
The organization’s commitment is clear. The question remains whether any player can take regular snaps on both sides of the ball and perform at a high level. Hunter is determined to prove it can be done. Tonight, he gets his first chance to show the league.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. EDT on NFL Network.
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