No player has ever consistently played both offense and defense in the NFL despite doing so in college, but Colorado head coach Deion Sanders believes his superstar player Travis Hunter will be able to do so.
Hunter continues to dominate at both wide receiver and cornerback this season, having 13 catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns, five tackles in his last game along with an interception with a 38-yard return and a pass breakup on defense.
The talented athlete ranks second nationally in catches per game (10) and touchdown catches (five), while also impressing on defense as a lockdown corner - and he has already stated that he hopes to continue playing on both sides of the ball in the NFL once he enters the draft, likely to be in the upcoming class.
NFL scouts and draft analysts have gone back and forth on whether his best position is at wide receiver or corner, with many of the belief that he will be unable to play both - due to the extensive playbooks while being able to avoid injuries and fatigue.
However, legendary NFL figure Sanders, who played offense and defense at times in his career, has stated why Hunter can follow in his footsteps.
Sanders told reporters: "The thing about Travis is, if you put him on, if he plays cornerback, and he's being dominant out there, and you sit up there and you can't move the ball at the next level, you're gonna say 'Well, my best receiver's on the sidelines, somebody come on'... Travis is a football player, and you can't have a football player on the sidelines."
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However, legendary Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman disagrees. Sherman, who played both receiver and corner in college, told Detroit Lions superstar Amon Ra St. Brown why it will not happen once he plays football in the pro's.
He said: "We’re not playing 50 snaps on offense and 55 snaps on defense. Boy those coordinators on offense, they’re going to test you. These quarterbacks are going to say, ‘Hey let’s see how in shape you are by the end of the fourth quarter. We just saw you run three go routes, I’m about to bring our third receiver in to run you on three more go routes, and then let Amon-Ra go ahead and do work baby." Sherman added that he expects Hunter to be selected as a cornerback.
While many have projected Sanders' son, quarterback Shedeur, to be the first overall pick, Hunter himself could now be selected ahead of him should he continue to dominate at the level that he has.
Hunter is strongly favored to be the first non-quarterback taken in the draft, with the likes of Sanders, Carson Beck and Quinn Ewers hoping to be selected first overall next April.
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