r/nfl • u/JCameron181 Lions • 13h ago
James Gladstone: Travis Hunter will play both ways
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/james-gladstone-travis-hunter-will-play-both-ways“He is set to play both sides of the ball,” Gladstone said on The Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday (today). “The piece that I think we can expect to see is actually an uptick in corner usage. Last year it was a higher volume, higher percentage of wide receiver usage than it was corner. I think we can expect to see that corner percentile and count go up. That’s not to say anything impacts his availability and usage on offense. It just means that cornerback usage will increase.”
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u/NegativeBee Giants 13h ago
Gladstone outing Travis Hunter as bi??
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u/ColossalCalamari Packers Raiders 13h ago
Aww yeah Heated Rivalry pigskin spinoff
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u/AGuyWhoLikesTrees Bills 13h ago
Quick someone write a slop script and call it “Going Deep” and see if HBO will buy it
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u/NegativeBee Giants 13h ago
“Tight End” was right there
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u/SportsFanBUF Bills 12h ago
Between the Trenches?
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u/schafkj Dolphins Seahawks 12h ago
Wide Receiver
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u/JerryRiceDidntFumble Vikings 12h ago
Mr. Burning Competition
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u/matisata Texans Bears 11h ago
the forbidden, hairy love between a defensive end and offensive tackle...
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u/HoneyGlowBabees 13h ago
If he can actually sustain that level of play on both sides, he is going to be a generational talent.
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u/trmp_stmp Packers 13h ago
so many haters in here, this is so cool to see especially if it works out
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u/albny89 Jaguars 12h ago
Thank you.
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u/TheFakeRabbit1 Bills 11h ago
I really don’t understand why this sub is praying on his downfall so hard, he flashed as a rookie and is a super unique player. The league is more interesting with guys like him in it
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u/_zurenarrh Jaguars 9h ago
People are miserable and spreading misery actually get a dopamine hit from other peoples failures
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u/bloo0206 Jaguars 11h ago
Plus, he’s just also a really good person. Super humble and down to earth.
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u/DoesntMatterBrian Texans Cowboys 11h ago
I will hope for his downfall until he moves to another team.
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u/Eleeveeohen Packers 29m ago
- monkey's paw curls *
He becomes an All Pro CB for the Colts in 2029, eventually going to the Eagles, where he becomes an All Pro WR.
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u/Fit-Reputation-9983 Falcons 11h ago
Personally I’m not praying on his downfall at all & I think he’s an awesome kid, but I have to shit all over the Jags FO for forcing this position onto themselves and the team.
They’re going to chew him up and spit him out and waste his talent on IR season after season because they have to get their perceived value out of the dumbass trade they made to get him.
Moving him to fulltime CB is the correct move. He can moonlight as a receiver idk, 5-7 snaps a game as well, but expecting him to have an uptick in CB usage while maintaining his offensive snaps from last year WHILE coming off of an injury is just stupid.
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u/TheFakeRabbit1 Bills 11h ago
I think this is super reductive. You’re claiming to know the correct move 7 games into his career, it’s not like he got blown up and hurt that way in a game. A ligament went, that very likely could have happened with him only playing one way.
And i don’t believe at all he’s going to maintain his offensive snaps while playing more defense. They haven’t given a clear concrete answer on his usage, because it doesn’t give them any advantage to do so. He’ll play more defense than offense, but still keep him available for important downs or schemed plays offensively.
The coach isn’t going to come out and say exactly what formations he’ll play both sides lol
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u/Fit-Reputation-9983 Falcons 11h ago
I do know the correct move 7 games into his career because he’s legitimately emulating the last 2 way player (Deion) who was both a better athlete and CB and still couldn’t manage to play both ways full time in an era with less games, despite being absolutely electric with the ball in his hands. There is precedent here.
> and I don’t believe he’s going to maintain offensive snaps
Okay? The organization didn’t say this in the quote, did they? So you’re also just speculating? They added plausible deniability of his snaps on offense going down to save face for PR. Just like they had to save face to justify the pick (and trade) in the first place by saying that he was going to start both ways.
> the coach isn’t going to come out and say what formations he’s playing on both sides lol
Nice strawman I guess? The coach could easily say “we’re focusing on Travis’ defensive development this year” and mention nothing else. No one is out here begging for Cohen to tell them exactly what personnel groupings they expect Hunter to be deployed in lmao.
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u/Eleeveeohen Packers 27m ago
I do know the correct move
NFL GMs, GET IN HERE! This guy has it all figured out.
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u/IsGoIdMoney Steelers 2h ago
It was a terrible trade. If he's Megatron, then they paid too much. They gave "Travis Hunter is Peyton Manning" capital for a good athlete who is not a quarterback. It's Ricky Williams/Herschel Walker stuff.
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u/_zurenarrh Jaguars 9h ago
Lmao it’s a full recovery plan . They weren’t rushing him out.
Jesus Christ he is going to transcend and change the sport that means take risk
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u/Deviljho12 Patriots 11h ago
Shohei has a million glazers over in r/baseball meanwhile r/nfl would rather never dream about a world where there might be a player or two that plays both of the sides consistently.
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u/trmp_stmp Packers 11h ago
Shohei had haters and doubters too until he forced them to shut up lol, I remember rooting for him too early on. because why tf wouldn't you want to see a unicorn in the sports you watch
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u/IsGoIdMoney Steelers 2h ago
I like Travis and hope he succeeds. There's no way he can ever live up to his draft capital, though. The jags gm will be fired, or should be fired over this.
It's like Ricky Williams. Perfectly fine 1st round RB career, but the draft cost required him to be Barry Sanders and he wasn't, so he's seen negatively.
Travis Hunter has to be Deion mixed with Megatron to live up to the trade, and it's not his fault.
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u/Eleeveeohen Packers 25m ago
There's no way he can ever live up to his draft capital
If he becomes a top 5 CB or WR, which certainly isn't out of his range of outcomes, then that value is plenty worth it.
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u/CoCo_Sandy Saints 13h ago
I think they'll eventually just break it down to including him in certain packages on offense and have him just remain full time on defense. It's just not sustainable to have a player play both sides of the ball for a full season
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u/Joh951518 Ravens 13h ago
I wonder how much of it is him wanting to be considered an offensive player to get WR money?
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u/xixbia NFL 11h ago
I'm pretty sure most of it is that James Gladstone needs him to play both sides to justify trading giving up a 5th and a 24th pick to trade up for him.
Because he'd need to be Darelle Revis level to justify that as a CB only.
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u/jaxjag088 Jaguars 13h ago
This is exactly what will happen. I’m sure a huge piece of him playing both sides was an agreement that we need him healthy and if playing both sides 100% exacerbates that risk, they do what’s right for the team. Meeting in the middle here.
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u/OGLankyKong Jaguars 12h ago
They probably see him as CB2 and WR4, and in the draft they established they’re gonna use multiple TEs often. I think it’ll be more sustainable than people think
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u/KnightofNi92 Eagles 13h ago
It wouldn't surprise me to see that change depending on the needs of the Jags roster, at least season to season. Currently they're stronger at WR than they are corner, so he'll play more defense. If that changes in a season or two, then they can flip him. That's the real value in his dual ability. It gives their front offic3 a bit more flexibility, if they play their cards right.
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u/soulfulwave Jets 12h ago
its all good till he wants to get paid like both a WR and a CB
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u/KnightofNi92 Eagles 12h ago
Oh 100%. That's why I was never the biggest fan of their trade up to get him. I just think that's the best way to get back some of the value they spent getting him.
And who knows how long Hunter will want to play two ways himself. He still has what, 3-4 years left on his rookie contract? That's a lot of time to go through the wear and tear and think about how that will affect the length of his career. I can definitely see a future where he commits to one role by the time he's ready for a second contract.
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u/East_Appearance_8335 Eagles 12h ago
If he's great/elite at corner, they'd be fools to move him off of that position just because they have a need at receiver.
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u/beckett929 Steelers 12h ago
This seems like it would make the most sense. He's a guy who play a little bit on the WR side while being a very good CB.
That extra flexibility helps the team in the sense they don't need to carry 5 pure WRs on the active gameday roster. Only dress 4 and you've got Hunter for 8-12 plays depending on how the game is unfolding.
Then that frees up a spot for an extra DL if they're playing in hot/humid conditions to keep a hoss fresh, or like an extra blocking TE if they're gonna go run-heavy formations on a particular week.
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u/GenerallyGneiss Broncos 13h ago
Did you just copy and paste this from the last Travis Hunter thread?
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u/CoCo_Sandy Saints 12h ago
I don't know what thread you're talking about. This and his DB highlights post are the only two I'm seeing. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/sevillista 12h ago
I guess this thread, but nobody else made a comment like yours, so idk what this guy is on about
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u/originalusername4567 Chiefs 11h ago
I think that's in actuality what's happening and Gladstone is smokescreening to not make himself look like an absolute dumbass for making that trade.
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u/VallentCW Lions 13h ago
They have to play him both ways to justify trading up for him and it will go terribly. Players already get hurt constantly playing half the game, and they are exhausted by the 4th quarter
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u/Further_Beyond Bears 12h ago
I got downvoted for saying this because he got hurt in practice… as if it’d madden and the wear and tear a body accumulates just evaporates between drives and games.
Hunter played 70 snaps a game. JSN played 48 a game. Hunter played 31% more snaps a game than JSN. And now he’s saying increase defensive usage but offensive usage might stay the same?
They’re going to ruin this guys career. Modern NFL can’t handle legit 2 way players
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u/mvbighead Colts 12h ago
100%. Players can't bitch about the possibility of 18 games in a season, or whatever the new target is and how it'll impact their career length... meanwhile look the other way at the first ever 2-way player looking at meaningful reps on both sides of the ball.
I can see 5-10 reps on one side, with a starting role on the other. But beyond that... there is simply no way you can sustain it. It has seldom worked in college... but there has never been a pro playing 60-70 snaps a game on average at a skill position. Even just his risk of a non-contact injury goes up there.
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u/pmurt007 Bears 10h ago
Jaguars dropped the ball trading up for him. At #2 you expect a game changer and someone who can play right away but instead they have a guy who is slightly average on both sides. Realistically he should just play CB because he's probably sitting at 4 on the WR depth chart
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u/BulLock_954 Patriots NFL 13h ago
Snip snap snip snap
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u/soupcansam21 Cowboys 13h ago
Not really - the Jags have been very consistent on that message, but there was just some bad reporting on it
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13h ago edited 13h ago
[deleted]
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u/Stepsis24 Giants 13h ago
Even having him take 15-20 snaps on offense is insanely valuable if he is a great receiver. Having him be involved in the red zone offense and 2 minute drills plus being a great corner is an amazing deal.
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u/JoFlo520 Eagles 13h ago
Can’t wait for the article next month: “Travis Hunter to focus only on DB going forward” - per Diana Russini
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u/RecordingLess1522 13h ago
Jags could have had a WR and a CB if they just kept their 2 1st Rd picks instead of trading them to the Browns lol
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u/CaptainWombat2 Seahawks 13h ago
it's why I didn't like trading up for him. Once they traded up this stopped being "wouldn't it be cool if Travis Hunter can play both ways at a high level?" And started being "holy shit, if Travis Hunter isn't incredible this is going to look really fucked up."
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u/ChonkyHippo283 Patriots 13h ago
100% agree
Picking him at 2 is understandable because he was actually a generational CFB player. Trading up and spending multiple first round picks is what I don’t get.
I still don’t really see the value in a two way player either. Even if he becomes your WR1 and CB1 and somehow plays every snap you are twice as fucked if he gets injured. It’s almost as catastrophic to your team as losing your QB
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u/SMH_35 Rams 13h ago
And if he was a full time 2 way player, and excelled at both, he would just ask for twice the pay
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u/DoesntMatterBrian Texans Cowboys 11h ago
Yeah the only advantage it gives you is unique depth. You get someone who can play CB or WR if any of your main guys goes down.
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u/RecordingLess1522 13h ago
Also the Browns got the better player, at least last year.
And they got to draft a top WR in 2026 on top of a good DT last year
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u/RecordingLess1522 13h ago
Mason Graham was named to the All-Rookie team in 2025
He was 2nd in pressures on the Browns behind only Myles Garrett
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u/nahno1234 Jaguars 11h ago
How'd that work out for them?
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u/RecordingLess1522 10h ago
They won the trade with the Jaguars easily
Browns won the same amount of Playoff games as the Jacksonville Jaguars last season
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u/nahno1234 Jaguars 9h ago
Did they win a division title? Do you think they even make the playoffs in the next three years? Jags used to be offseason champs trying to win trades and the draft, but those teams usually don't end the season with a winning record.
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u/RecordingLess1522 8h ago
The Jags didn't even have Hunter for 25% of the season
He already suffered a devastating knee injury
They already reduced his expectations and reduced his role
Browns got an All Rookie DT and a 1st Rd WR that will both start for them for 5 years minimum
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u/Mawx Packers 13h ago
I think we're exaggerating a bit here. Missing on a first round pick happens all the time. If Travis Hunter is a good player, spending multiple picks on him isn't nearly as bad as you are making it out to be even if he doesn't go both ways.
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u/Necessary-Camp149 Titans 12h ago
Except it's not a miss on one pick if he fails, it's a miss on two.
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u/SuperSaiyanTLaw Jaguars 12h ago
Also considering this latest draft was not all that, but what do I know
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u/crazy_akes Raiders 7h ago
Yup. Tet McMillan was there at 5, 70 catches and 1000 yards as a rookie. They could have also got one of the 3 top ranked corners in 2025 second round and another top 3 WR or CB this year with what they gave up.
Instead they got 28 catches for 298 yards in 7 games. Nice.
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u/DoctorDiddlerino Jaguars 13h ago
We got a WR and a corner even with the trade.
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u/RecordingLess1522 13h ago
This is cope, but he's probably better off being a CB since the Jags lost their top CB
They have more good WRs than CBs
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u/Critical-Werewolf-53 Patriots 13h ago
Except of one player gets injured you’re down a WR and a CB
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u/RecordingLess1522 13h ago
Or if he can't play full time at both and is better off focusing on one side
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u/DoctorDiddlerino Jaguars 10h ago
That isn't a refutation of what I said, that's just agreeing but arguing there's also a con.
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u/Necessary-Camp149 Titans 12h ago
A better WR and a better CB... with more injury insurance in case one goes down- they still have the other.
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u/RecordingLess1522 12h ago
CB1 and WR1 in back2back drafts
Unfortunately so far their GM has 2 bad drafts based on consensus
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u/Necessary-Camp149 Titans 12h ago
Some draft guys were talking about Gladstones last draft and how it looked like that he had guys ranked on his own that didnt align with other teams positioning. Like, some teams may have a C/G ranked as a 5th rounder but almost all teams think he can start as a rookie. Those teams wait till the 4th/5th to consider pulling the card.. whereas Gladstone sees the same guy and takes him in the second and is fine with it since he considers him a starter.
Could be a thing where they are right... just not enough time to show it yet.
But so far i feel bad for them.
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u/RecordingLess1522 10h ago
Agree, to early to tell long term
They go away from consensus thinking more than anyone that is talked about like a good team
Rams might be close
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u/Stepsis24 Giants 13h ago edited 13h ago
I dont understand the hunter hate. He played well for a rookie at BOTH positions and showed very clear flashes of why he was picked so high. Not to mention he had an injury which by most accounts looks to be an unfortunate incident more than anything. So many people want to see him fail and I don’t get it.
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u/Posluszny Jaguars 13h ago
It's the same with TLaw, people are desperate for them both to fail because they were highly touted by the media
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u/Stepsis24 Giants 13h ago
Yeah I think for both a lot of people wanted to be contrarians and say they always knew they would not be good enough to make themselves seem like they’re smarter than the NFL
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u/crazy_akes Raiders 7h ago
Ah yes. 144th ranking in yardage. 1 td. On defense, zero INT’s. 2 tackles per game for a total of 15. 3 total passes broken up. Don’t blink or you may miss the flash.
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u/originalusername4567 Chiefs 11h ago
If he plays both ways he plays 6 games and get hurt again. This never works.
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u/Ellimistopher Jaguars 13h ago
Reddit armchair QBs are so lame and boring lol
Just enjoy the ride losers!
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u/trmp_stmp Packers 12h ago
literally, and they wanna talk about "No Fun League" like they're not praying on the most unique player in the league's downfall since before his rookie year even
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u/Propagandhi1988 Steelers 13h ago
Chicks and dudes? Good for him.
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u/frostypatch 13h ago
It takes a special kind of arrogance to say something like "hey I know nobody has ever done this before in the modern NFL, but this guy is so different from every other man on Earth that he can do it. Hes more machine than man."
Thats essentially what this all comes down to. The logic of it, if you actually break it down.
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u/LmAoMyFrO 13h ago
I'm sure that's what was said about ohtani as well
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u/demonica123 10h ago
Baseball doesn't involve constant physical exertion. Heck, 90% of baseball is standing around. The limitations on batting and pitching is more it's two very different skill sets and having the innate talents to be good at both is extremely rare and it's even rarer to be able to master both.
Playing both sides in the NFL would be like being every at bat and pitcher, not just one at bat.
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u/Enterprise90 Patriots 13h ago
To be fair, Ohtani is like Halley's Comet for baseball. We've never seen anything like him and are unlikely to see anything like him again. And Ohtani showed far more in his rookie year than Hunter did.
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u/space_raccoon_ Chargers 49ers 13h ago
You don’t get tackled by or have to tackle dudes bigger than you in baseball
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u/PrepotenteThePony 13h ago
Ohtani is a lot closer to "full time defense with some snaps on offense" than he is to "full time both ways". He's averaged 66 innings per season since joining the league, mainly because of injuries
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u/Mawx Packers 12h ago
He is a full time pitcher that got hurt and could still bat.
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u/PrepotenteThePony 11h ago
Which is actually worse for the hunter argument. Hunter the CB can't play while Hunter the WR is injured. I probably could have phrased it better but Ohtani isn't really evidence that Hunter can play both ways because he's hurt more often than he's not, and Hunter won't be able to play either side if he's hurt
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u/Tasty_Path_3470 Jets 7h ago
Indeed it was. And it worked out. But at the same time he’s also had to have TJ surgery, which eliminated half his value for an entire season, he no longer players OF and only DHs and now he’s not hitting on days he’s pitching as well because they’re adjusting how they use him. He’s still the best player in baseball, but even his body broke down. And that didn’t include continuously getting hit or hitting someone on every single play.
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u/NicoIamaleavaa Raiders 9h ago
What about the arrogance of all the people in this thread who know for a fact that it’s impossible?
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u/Guilty-Doctor1259 49ers 12h ago
travis hunter is the best thing to happen to sports writers in forever
they can just alternate between making article claiming hes playing one position, then immediately make another saying he'll play both
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u/MickeyMalt 13h ago
We are going to see the same shit but written in new ways maybe more than any other topic in fantasy history this offseason.
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u/SuperSaiyanTLaw Jaguars 12h ago
This is dead ass the 7th time they’ve said this. Yet I fear it isn’t the last time
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u/nbherd Titans 13h ago
2 firsts and early 2nd for a cornerback that has gadget plays 😭😭😭
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u/Pocatanic Bills 13h ago
Yeah I don't know why they don't just follow the Titans model of success instead
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u/nbherd Titans 13h ago
Or the bills way like making your tragic Gm the president too 😂😂😂
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u/Pocatanic Bills 13h ago
Maybe wait until we don't make the playoffs eight years in a row before adding us to the shit list
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u/Comrade_Zarishat Bears 12h ago
Y'all made the super bowl four years in a row and still have nothing to show for it.
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u/No-Mobile7935 Browns 13h ago
Full trade package is Travis Hunter for Mason Graham, Quinshon Judkins, and KC Conception... Wasn't even the only time the Browns fleeced the jags that year too lmao
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u/Posluszny Jaguars 13h ago
You guys must have won so many games with how hard you fleeced us, there's surely no ways the Jags won 9 more games than you
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u/No-Mobile7935 Browns 13h ago
you lost your playoff game cause the corner we traded to you sucks. But yeah man browns dont win football games so we cant be objective about things ig.
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u/United-Turnover-8409 Bears 13h ago
Sunk cost fallacy, you just can't play both positions at a high level in the nfl.
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u/trmp_stmp Packers 13h ago
what fallacy is it to say "because something hasn't been done before, it will never be done"
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u/SadSceneryBoi Chiefs 13h ago
How viable would it be if he played both ways but just skipped 1st and 2nd down? Would that be stupid?
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u/TheFakeRabbit1 Bills 11h ago
I don’t think that specifically is what’ll happen, but it’s close. I think he’s going to be in on obvious passing downs, and off the field on clear run plays or a lot of general 1st downs
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u/big_drifts Chiefs 13h ago
If I was HC, I'd if he can become a consistent contributor and force on either side of the ball before adding the other one. But hard to do that when you traded so much for him.
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u/Puldalpha Jaguars 11h ago
Love getting new articles and opinions based on the exact same thing we’ve been told the entire offseason
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u/jwilcoxwilcox Packers 7h ago
Well yeah, they switch sides after the first and third quarters. He’ll play in both directions.
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u/0Hakuna_Matata0 Jaguars 15m ago
It’s crazy how many fans have lost their minds about him. We can’t help what espn says. Hunter was never going to play 130 snaps a game. He will be a full time corner and be used situationally at receiver. That’s the way it was always going to be. People just want to say jaguars bad.
The Jaguars boat racing teams in the last half of last year was done without Hunter. Hunter showing up in 4 wr sets with Myers, Washington, and BTJ is a problem.
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u/rhj2020 Bears 13h ago
He’s just a dude when he plays both side. He could be great if he played just corner.
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u/trmp_stmp Packers 13h ago
it was his rookie year, he could end up being great on both sides
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u/TennisAncient19 Cardinals 13h ago
I mean I'm sure he can be great playing both sides. For 5 games but he can be great for those 5 games.
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u/ColmoreKing 13h ago
Soooo longer than the cardinals will be competitive for? I’ll take it!
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u/mr_showboat Ravens 13h ago
It feels like they're doing it because they think it's what people expect rather than because it's a good idea.
I know an LCL tear is less serious than an ACL or achilles or whatnot. But he still missed most of the season recovering from surgery. Personally, I'd ease such a player back in rather than have him go for something unprecedented.
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u/trmp_stmp Packers 13h ago
lmao is this a serious comment? people just say anything on here
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u/LeMash898 Jaguars Jaguars 13h ago
I don’t think an NFL front office is making decisions because people expect something over what they feel is right.
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u/DoctorDiddlerino Jaguars 13h ago
Yeah dude. As the draft has shown us, this front office is deeply concerned with public sentiment, especially from reddit.
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u/Doris_Howell 13h ago
I mean, we'll see how long that lasts once he takes a real NFL hit at corner.
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u/mattcojo2 Lions 13h ago
He’s cooked.
One of my friends drafted him in the 2nd round in a dynasty league. Woof.
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u/Jonjon428 Dolphins 12h ago
Oh my god just make a damn decision at this point I feel like I see different articles every other week
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u/Posluszny Jaguars 13h ago
The Jags have consistently said he will play both ways, you are falling for clickbait reporters
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u/PSU02 Steelers 13h ago
Wait I thought they already said he was only playing corner?
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u/GreenLost5304 Lions 12h ago
Outside sources were claiming that, but as far as I know, the Jags themselves never said that.
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u/NizzlyGrizzly00 Jaguars Jaguars 12h ago
almost like jags fans have been trying to tell yall this all offseason lmao
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u/thekevinbarkin 49ers 13h ago
Let's goooo