One of the biggest stories as the 2025 draft approaches relates to the plans for Travis Hunter after he’s drafted. He clearly wants to try to play both ways on a full-time basis.
Will the team that picks him let him do it?
Hopefully, they’ll let him try. It’s far better for him to figure it out on his own that it’s too much to handle than for someone else to tell him he can’t do it.
On Tuesday, Ravens coach John Harbaugh suggested it will be hard for anyone to do it.
“It’s gonna be interesting to see how they do it, wherever he goes,” Harbaugh said during a pre-draft press conference. “But to say that you’re gonna be completely immersed in everything that there is to know on offense and everything there is to know on defense. I don’t know if there’s enough hours in the day for a player to be able to do that, and to have every detail locked down.
“But you certainly could do it I would think on one side of the ball and then have some sort of a package on the other side of the ball, which is my guess is how the team will do it, wherever he goes. But I assume we’ll be playing against him, so we’re about to find out how that team does it.”
That team is likely the Browns. A division rival of the Ravens. So, yes, Harbaugh will find out — twice this year and every year Hunter is in Cleveland — how the Browns use him.
Harbaugh has a point. Think of the time a player spends (if he’s truly committed to his craft) preparing for a game. Beyond the reps on the practice field, he has to know the playbook. He has to know the audibles. He has to know the game plan. He has to know the various adjustments and checks at the line of scrimmage. He has to study film of the upcoming opponent. It’s a full load on one side of the ball. Double it, and it could be overwhelming.
Still, Hunter did it in college. And he did it well enough to be regarded as a top receiver prospect AND a top cornerback prospect.
He has earned the opportunity to attempt to do it at the next level. For now, the question is whether the team that drafts him is willing to let him try. If that team isn’t willing to let him try, it just shouldn’t draft him.
That said, Harbaugh has had a player play extensively on both sides of the ball. In 2019, Patrick Ricard became the first player since Browns receiver/safety Mike Furrey to play 100 or more snaps on offense and 100 or more snaps on defense. Furrey did it by shifting from receiver to safety due to injuries in the secondary. Richard played both defensive tackle and fullback by design.
Still, Hunter is looking at far more than 100 snaps on offense and defense in a season. If he gets his wish, he’ll be reaching that level every two games.
It would be great for the Browns if he can pull it off. It would be like having an extra player on the roster. It would give the Browns flexibility on game days, when it’s time to decide who should and shouldn’t be in uniform. They can dress one fewer receiver or one fewer defensive back, allowing them to use another player at another position.
Here’s hoping the Browns, if they take him, are willing to let him give it a shot. Then, if he concludes on his own that it’s too much to handle, he can settle into one position or the other.
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