Travis Hunter joins notable two-way players in NFL history - ESPN

The two-way player has largely become a thing of the past in the NFL.

Due to limited roster sizes, many of the NFL's pioneers played both offense and defense. But since Hall of Fame center and linebacker Chuck Bednarik retired in 1962 after playing his entire 14-year career for the Philadelphia Eagles, the two-way star has largely faded out of the league.

Travis Hunter wants to change that.

Hunter won the Heisman Trophy as college football's top player after a 2024 season in which he started at both wide receiver and cornerback for Colorado. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound standout logged 750 snaps on offense and 773 on defense, according to Sports Info Solutions. It was the most total snaps recorded (1,523, excluding special teams snaps) by a player in a single collegiate campaign since at least 2017. Hunter averaged more than 117 snaps per game. No other player in the FBS averaged more than 85.

Hunter finished his final season for the Buffaloes with 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 16 total touchdowns on offense and four interceptions on defense. Hunter won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver and was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

The Jacksonville Jaguars traded up three spots to select Hunter with the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL draft with the intention of playing Hunter on both sides of the ball. Jaguars general manager James Gladstone said he believes Hunter can alter not only the trajectory of the organization but the entire sport.

After being a two-way starter in high school and in college, Hunter looks to continue to make an impact on both offense and defense in the NFL. Below is a look at some notable NFL players who played on both sides of the ball in the Super Bowl era (since 1966).

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