In the ongoing debate of whether Travis Hunter can or should play both ways in the NFL, the New York Giants have thrown their hat in the ring.
They believe that he can. And they wouldn’t be “afraid” to deploy him on both sides of the ball.
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That’s according to general manager Joe Schoen, who addressed the status of the two-way star during a news conference on Wednesday, eight days before the first round of next week’s NFL Draft.
“We’re in a unique position that we have three good receivers, and we like our secondary right now,” Schoen told reporters. “So our situation will be unique. I would not be afraid to play him on both sides of the ball.”
Schoen’s stance is relevant. The Giants have the No. 3 pick in next week’s draft. The Tennessee Titans are widely expected to select Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 pick. That scenario would leave the consensus top-two players in the draft — Hunter and Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter — to fall to picks No. 2 and 3. The Giants could very well face the opportunity to select Hunter at No. 3.
Will Travis Hunter play both ways in the NFL? (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
(Andrew Wevers via Getty Images)
Hunter is a unique football talent who played the majority of snaps on both sides of the ball during his 2024 Heisman Trophy campaign at Colorado. He’s rated by most as the best wide receiver and the best cornerback in this year’s draft with All-Pro upside at both positions.
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Playing two ways in college is one thing. Though it’s still wild. Doing it in the NFL in 2025 isn’t realistic, right? The violence of the game takes a significant physical and mental toll on players, no matter their position.
Double dipping on those opportunities for violence sounds like a formula for a shorter career with higher risk of significant, sidelining injury. Despite that, Hunter wants to play both ways in the NFL. And if it’s appealing to him, there’s good reason to believe that it will be appealing to the team that drafts him.
At that point, it comes down to a matter of strategically deploying Hunter. There’s no way he’d play full time at both positions. Instead, it would would become a matter designating his primary position and picking strategic spots to use him on the other side of the ball.
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The best comparison case might be Hunter’s college coach, Deion Sanders. Sanders is a Hall of Fame cornerback who also caught 60 career passes for 784 yards and three touchdowns playing wide receiver. He spent most of his time on offense in 1996 with the Dallas Cowboys in 1996, when he tallied 36 catches for 475 yards.
That could be the blueprint for optimizing Hunter as a two-way player.
Whomever drafts him will face a difficult choice. But it will also be an enviable one.