It remains to be seen how the Jacksonville Jaguars will utilize Colorado Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter in the NFL. It's no secret that he wants to play both ways, much like his mentor and college head coach Deion Sanders did. He's likely to get the chance, but the exact number of splits between WR and CB is still up in the air.
In an appearance on the "Bussin' with the Boys" podcast this week, Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce revealed that things won't be so easy for Hunter in the NFL. Why? Because he believes NFL teams will have a foolproof plan to wear down the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft:
"Teams are going to be going after him," said Kelce. "They're gonna try and make his day miserable. If he plays corner, they're gonna run deep balls at him all day. They're gonna run the wide receivers, just take off on him all day, just to try to get him tired. Why wouldn't you just attack him that way?"
Brilliant.
That, of course, is the obvious strategy to attack Hunter and wear him down. The only problem? It's the exact strategy opponents utilized the past two years in Boulder, too. Unfortunately for them, Hunter is a one-of-one athlete with a preternatural ability to recover energy quicker than most.
Someone should tell Taylor's boyfriend to turn on the tape.
NFL games tend to have less snaps than college games
The Washington Commanders led the NFL last season in number of plays per game at 66. That would have ranked them tied for 93rd in the country in college football a year ago.
Texas Tech led college football at just under 80 plays per game.
Hunter himself averaged 118 snaps per game last season for the Buffaloes.
Now, obviously, the NFL presents a greater challenge than college football. The game speed is quicker, you have to process things faster as a WR or DB, and the players are all better. Everyone is a pro, and it's a lot more difficult to take a play off here or there.
The physicality of the league will be the biggest change for Hunter, and holding up to 100+ snaps per game in a 17-game NFL schedule is way more of a concern than frequent cardio. It's not the running up and down the field that will be a concern, it's the wear and tear from the grind of the NFL season.
NFL teams will undoubtedly try to employ the strategy Kelce mentioned. They would do that anyway, even if Hunter weren't a two-way star. He's going to be a rookie, after all, and rookies have to prove themselves to prevent getting picked on.
But what these teams will learn is that trying to pick on him is a mistake.
And what NFL fans will learn that college football fans already know is that you can doubt Hunter at your own peril.
There were plenty of doubts about whether Hunter could hold up playing both ways at Colorado in a major conference after doing it at the FCS level at Jackson State his freshman year. Not only did he do it, he thrived, leading the Buffaloes to their best season in eight years, and winning the Heisman Trophy in the process.