Coming out of college, Heisman trophy winner Travis Hunter felt like a sure thing. I mean, he took home the award for best player in the country for being elite at two different positions.
Unfortunately, college football isn’t the NFL. Guys are bigger, faster, and stronger, and play in a style that puts far more wear and tear on your body. Yet, many still felt that if Hunter couldn’t thrive playing both ways, he would make it work on whatever side of the football he felt best suited him long term.
2025 was a rough start to Hunter’s professional career. He only played seven games before a non-contact injury took him out during practice. Even when he was healthy he wasn’t lighting up the stat sheet. He felt like an awkward fit wherever he played for Liam Coen.
Hunter only averaged 42.5 yards per game and 1 touchdown on offense, while only playing 23 snaps a game on defense, where he looked shaky at points as well. Many rookies have bounced back from a slow first season, but Hunter is in a far different position than most.
My biggest concern is long term durability with a guy like Hunter. At just 23 years old, he should absolutely still have a ton of mileage on his body, but he’s not like every other 23-year-old second-year player. Deion Sanders utilized Hunter exceedingly well in college, but he also burned a lot of the tread in his tires.
College sports are some of my favorites to watch, but they’re also the antithesis to proper development. Coaches are doing everything they can to win games, and keep their jobs, but that also comes at the cost proper development for players. This is much worse in a sport like baseball where a coach might throw a kid 130+ pitches, but Hunter playing both ways feels like the football version of a coach over throwing their ace.
Fast forward to today, Hunter’s in the best shape of his life, and is much stronger heading into year two in Jacksonville. He has all the talent in the world, but I still won’t ever love that he’s playing both ways. Learning two NFL playbooks, keeping your body protected, and poor utilization will continue to concern me moving forward. I’m hoping Coen is able to find the right balance for Hunter moving forward, or they might regret trading up with the Browns by the end of this year.
