Can Travis Hunter play offense and defense? A look at the modern history of NFL 2-way players

“Concrete Charlie” played a long time ago.

Chuck Bednarik famously is remembered as the NFL’s last 60-minute man, never coming off the field as he played center, linebacker and special teams for the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Bednarik retired after the 1962 season. Since then there have been many players who have played one side of the ball and seen snaps on the other side, but that’s rare. And the list of players like Travis Hunter, who could go No. 2 in the NFL Draft to the Cleveland Browns and has a chance to play regularly at cornerback and receiver, is very small. The Browns have said they see Hunter primarily as a receiver but believe he can play both ways.

Here’s a history of some of the notable players who have had an impact on both sides of the ball since the days of “Concrete Charlie” and the true two-way player in the NFL:

Roy Green

Green’s time as a two-way player is largely forgotten because he became a great receiver once he transitioned to offense full time. He led the NFL in receiving touchdowns in 1983 and receiving yards in 1984. But he started his career as a defensive back and by his third season he was playing regularly both ways. In a 1981 game, he played 108 snaps, according to the Arizona Republic. In 1981 he had a receiving touchdown and an interception in the same game, the first player to pull that off since 1957. It’s tough to maintain that over a full career, which is one reason he transitioned to offense for most of his career.

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“Just common sense tells you when everyone else is playing 45, 50 plays and you’re playing 104, 105, I mean, duh? It’s very taxing,” Green told the Arizona Republic. “But because of your love for the game, how exciting it is, the adrenaline, the love to compete, you don’t really consider all that until Monday and Tuesday.”

William Perry

Perry became a phenomenon, not because of his work at defensive tackle for the 1985 Chicago Bears, but for a few snaps on offense. Perry is remembered for that but it’s not like he was a two-way player. “The Refrigerator” had five carries in 1985 (just three after that) and one reception. He had three touchdowns in the regular season and a famous one in Super Bowl XX. It was fun but nothing comparable to what Hunter wants to do.

Lawrence Taylor

The story of Taylor crossing the picket line during the 1987 strike and playing both ways has been oversold. Taylor did play some tight end in his one game surrounded by replacement players, but it was limited and he didn’t catch a pass. Taylor never caught a pass in his career. Taylor is listed because of the memory of him playing tight end in replacement games, but it’s more legend than reality.

Deion Sanders

Sanders coached Hunter at the University of Colorado, and along with Green he’s the best comparison as a modern-day two-way player that Hunter can model himself after. Sanders got at least one target as a receiver in 13 of his 14 NFL seasons, but in 1996 he was way more than a gadget offensive player. He started the season by playing nearly every snap against the Chicago Bears, playing cornerback and also getting nine catches on 15 targets on offense. He wasn’t a full-time two-way player all season, seeing his offensive snaps limited a bit after that Week 1 game, but he still played plenty at receiver. He ended up with 36 receptions that season. He was an All-Pro cornerback too. It happened 29 years ago, but Hunter has a good role model to show what he’s trying to do isn’t impossible.

Mike Vrabel

Vrabel, currently the New England Patriots’ coach, was mostly a linebacker during his career. But he has a really cool stat line as a part-time offensive player. Vrabel caught 10 passes during his career and all 10 went for touchdowns (he also has two touchdowns on two playoff catches). The 10 regular-season catches went for just 14 yards because he was used strictly near the goal line, but his dalliance on offense is memorable.

Warren Sapp

Sapp, one of the great defensive tackles ever, wanted some work at tight end too. And he got the chance in 2003, hauling in all four of his targets as a tight end, mostly at the goal line, for 39 yards. All four catches went for first downs, and two were touchdowns. It’s still not what Hunter wants to do but it is intriguing to wonder what Sapp could have done getting regular snaps as a tight end.

Champ Bailey

Bailey played a lot of offense in college at Georgia and asked often for the chance to do it in the NFL. He got three catches in 2000 for Washington, then only one more for 11 yards in 2004 for the Denver Broncos. He lobbied Denver coach Mike Shanahan for snaps on offense, practiced a bit there in training camp but got only a few shots at it and just the one catch with the Broncos. He was too valuable at cornerback to play offense more than he did. It’s hard to argue considering Bailey is in the Hall of Fame for his work at corner.

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Bailey’s few snaps on offense is similar to Charles Woodson, whose brief time on offense helped him win a Heisman Trophy in 1997, but he finished his NFL career with just two catches in 18 seasons.

Troy Brown

In 2004, it was strange to see No. 80 playing defense. When the Patriots were desperately thin at cornerback due to injuries, 33-year-old Brown was inserted on defense to help. He played on that side for the second half of the season, grabbing three interceptions, and the playoffs including the Super Bowl. Funny enough, he wasn’t used a lot as a receiver during the season with just 17 catches, but he was playing both sides and contributing at receiver and cornerback.

Julian Edelman

Bill Belichick would have been an incredible coach for Hunter. Nobody in the modern era has deployed players on both sides of the ball situationally like Belichick did. Edelman was a Patriots legend for his 620 career catches, but he also played some defense. Edelman played 120 snaps on defense in 2011, including 40 in a game against the Bills, via NBC Sports Boston. He even had a couple of quarterback hits and a forced fumble in the playoffs. That was before he was an integral part of the offense however. Edelman had just four catches all season. Still, it’s at least somewhat comparable to Hunter.

J.J. Watt

Watt should have won NFL MVP in 2014. Not only was he a force on defense with 20.5 sacks, he also contributed on offense. Watt was a part of the goal-line package as a tight end and caught three passes for three touchdowns. Like most of the players on this list Watt’s time on offense was more of a fun cameo than a regular gig, but it was part of a fantastic season.

Watt, like most players in the Super Bowl era, got some attention for a handful of snaps on the other side of the ball. But being a regular presence on both sides? That has almost never happened in the modern era of NFL football. Perhaps Hunter will make some history that way.