Travis Hunter has emphasized his desire to play both wide receiver and cornerback in the NFL, and it appears the New York Giants are willing to make that wish a reality if the Heisman Trophy winner falls to them at No. 3 in next week’s NFL draft.
Speaking during his annual pre-draft news conference Wednesday, New York general manager Joe Schoen said that the Giants “would not be afraid” to line up Hunter on both sides of the ball.
Schoen said that “I wouldn’t doubt the kid. He’s that type of athlete. He’s had that type of production, the number of snaps he plays in a game, doesn’t sit down, goes over, gets a drink of water and gets back out on the field.
“So, he’s got that type of athleticism, he’s got the right mindset, he’s a great kid. So, I wouldn’t doubt him.”
While NFL executives have said that Hunter could develop into a Pro Bowl player at either position, Hunter made headlines earlier in the week when he said he would never play football again if a team told him he could not play both wide receiver and cornerback.
“Because I’ve been doing it my whole life,” Hunter told CBS Sports, “and I love being on the football field. I feel like I could dominate on each side of the ball, so I really enjoy doing it.”
Of course, much of the concern regarding Hunter playing both ways stems from the higher workload. With the Colorado Buffaloes last year, Hunter played in over 84 percent of the team’s snaps. For perspective, according to ESPN, cornerback Dane Jackson played 48% of the Carolina Panthers’ total snaps last season that stood as the most in the NFL.
“We’re looking at the workloads and the yardage each day,” Schoen said, “and then to me what we will have to be settled is the mental part of it, because offense is very hard to learn and then the defense on a weekly basis, it’s not college anymore where, ‘Hey, these are our basic plays, this is our basic defense and we’re going to go play Cover 3 against Kansas, we’re going to play Cover 3 against Nebraska.’
“There’s a lot more week-to-week matchup-type stuff that our coaches are doing. So just how much can you handle mentally where you can go out there and execute and they can trust you to do your job.”
If Hunter is even available at No. 3 remains to be seen. Many experts believe he is a must-have option for the Cleveland Browns at No. 2 after Tennessee is presumed to select quarterback Cam Ward with the first overall pick. What’s more, New York will also need to decide if Hunter is the better choice of a top available quarterback. Schoen, though, said that the Giants “don’t think it’s mandatory” to select a QB at No. 3 after adding Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston to the roster alongside Tommy DeVito.
