Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter will undoubtedly be a top-5 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and may even go No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans or whatever team ends up in that spot come April.
Hunter’s dazzling college career thrust him into the spotlight as somewhat of a unicorn. He’s both an elite wide receiver and elite cornerback, capable of playing the bulk of snaps on each side of the ball. However, his ability to continue that at the professional level has come up for debate.
During his press conference at the 2025 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Hunter reiterated his desire to play both positions in the NFL, confidently suggesting he can handle the workload.
“They say nobody has ever done it the way I do it,’ Hunter said, via NFL.com. “But I tell them I’m just different. I am a different person.
“Nobody has done it, but I feel like I’ve put my body through a lot. I do a lot of treatment; people don’t get to see that part. … But I know I can do it.”
Hunter suggested he could play 100 percent of the snaps every week and contribute both offensively and defensively. He feels there are more breaks throughout a game in the NFL and that would allow him to reach his goal.
That alone was a somewhat controversial statement, but he took it to a different level when asked about Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, who excels as both a pitcher and a hitter at the MLB level.
In Hunter’s mind, what he does is far more difficult than what Ohtani does.
“Probably me (and) what I do in football,” Hunter said when asked which is harder. “Because it’s a lot on your body. You know Ohtani, he’s a great player but you gotta do a lot in football.”
Football is the more physically demanding sport in a game-to-game comparison, but baseball is also played every day. There is less time for rest and recovery, especially for a two-way player like Ohtani, who also sees time in the field on occasion.
Moreover, there’s nothing more difficult in professional sports than hitting a baseball. And that’s not to disparage what Hunter does or dismiss his naturally gifted talents, it’s just a universally accepted reality.
Ohtani has been both a top hitter and a top pitcher in baseball on a consistent level, and until Hunter proves he’s capable of the same dual-threat dominance, his comments will have to be chalked up little more than misguided confidence.
