Travis Hunter has always tried to change how the game is typically played. The rookie hasn’t logged a single snap yet, but he’s already the center of one of football’s loudest conversations. Offense and defense? Full-time? It’s bold, it’s rare, and it’s got everyone talking. Davante Adams, too.
That whole two-way debate hit another level this week after a Davante Adams quote about Travis Hunter started making the rounds online. And when he noticed that his words were misinterpreted? Oh, he hit back hard.
It all started when BR Gridiron trimmed down Adams’ words about Hunter playing two ways. The tweet said, “I don’t think it’s even possible to do, for real: Davante Adams on Hunter playing both ways.” That’s it. They chopped up the quote just enough to make it seem like Adams deems it an ‘impossible’ task. But he didn’t sit around doing nothing. “Most clickbaitey quote all time I haven’t even tweeted in like 100 years but this had to be said lol watch the episode man smh,” he retweeted.
He didn’t stop there. He posted a clip of what he really said on his Instagram stories, followed by a screenshot of his tweet. And the end result? Bleacher Report ended up deleting the original tweet. And Adams was a proud man. He posted another story of “There’s nothing to see here,” page after the tweet was taken away.
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Now, the big question: what did he really say? Well, he did say “I don’t even think it’s possible to do,” on the Pivot podcast. But there’s a lot more that he said. “Not at a high level. It’s hard enough to go cover a punt and then be on one side,” he added. He does think that Hunter can pull it off, but he accepts that it’ll be really hard to do it at an optimal level.
“That’s just a lot of mileage, man. I’m not even concerned so much if he can do it over the course of a game or a season. It’s more like, how long is his career going to be if he’s playing that many snaps? All you’re doing is doubling your risk of injury.” He made it clear he’s rooting for Hunter to stay healthy and succeed, but he also dropped a reality check: playing DB in the NFL isn’t a walk in the park, especially when you’re up against elite talent every week.
“I don’t wish any of that on him. I hope he can play an injury-free season and go ball out. But this is the reality. It’s already 100% injury guarantee. Once you get out there playing both sides, you gotta tackle Derrick Henry with that frame. He’s athletic as hell, but he’s gotta do some ninja s—,” he concluded.
What Adams said isn’t shade; it’s a balance between respect and realism. He basically said, “Hunter’s got the juice, but this league’s no joke.” It wasn’t a diss; it was a veteran respectfully sounding the alarm. And of course, the internet did what it does. It chopped it up and twisted it out of shape. But when you hear the full quote, it’s clear: Adams sees the talent, he just knows the cost of playing both ways at this level.
Can Travis Hunter pull off two-way play this season?
Travis Hunter’s intentions to play both ways became clear when he said that he’d walk away from football before being stuck at just one position. But now? This dream might actually be turning into a reality. Since minicamp, the Jaguars have been slowly but surely working him into both receiver and cornerback roles. And in a recent scrimmage, Hunter saw action on both sides of the ball: 17 snaps on offense, 21 on defense. Head coach Liam Coen didn’t just shrug it off as an experiment either. He called it intentional.
And his college football resume is why this is a great idea. In Colorado, he racked up 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns on offense, while snagging four interceptions and making 32 tackles on defense. Oh, and he became the first player ever to win both the Biletnikoff and Bednarik Awards, and just the second defensive player in history to take home the Heisman. One season, two sides of the ball, three major trophies.
Still, the NFL? Totally different ball game. As Davante Adams said, doing this at the pro level is a grind. And playing both ways in the NFL might not be something his body can keep up with for long.
The logistics are already scary. Liam Coen remarked that if Travis Hunter’s getting 65 to 75 snaps on offense and pulling similar duty on defense, you’re talking 100+ snaps a game. That’s unheard of in today’s NFL. No one’s built for that kind of workload week after week.
But the Jaguars are backing him up. Coaches have tweaked meeting schedules, added built-in rest windows, and tailored his workload day to day. Defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile couldn’t hide his amazement, saying it’s “unbelievable” how a rookie is digesting both playbooks and handling the physical toll. So yeah, if anyone can pull this off? It’s Travis Hunter.
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