Travis Hunter will become a member of the Browns on Thursday evening. Cleveland is ready to take the two-way phenomenon with the number 2 pick in the NFL version, and at this point the only thing that could throw a key in that plan is like a lake
Teams have struggled with the NFL position of Hunter for a large part of the pre-Draft process. Is I a broad receiver playing a small corner? A cornerback that Snaps could see at Wide Recueller? It is a embrace of wealth when it comes to an A -A player who won more prizes in one season than a university football player in history. Hunter won the Heisman for player of the year, the Bednarik for defensive player of the year, and the Bilatnikoff as the best receiver of the nation – Gose is only sub of his Fole.
During this process it was quite clear that the browns were berded when taking Hunter. Heck, when you compare GM the prospect with Shohei Ohtani, it is the Clearest sign that they are sold to a man. And although that comparison with Ohtani may seem ridiculous, it is really not that far away. In the same way, Shohei hit baseball upside down with his battle and pitch skills, so Hunter is also about to become one of the few, real two-way players in the history of modern NFL.
During the budding days of professional football it was not uncommon to see Tway players. Much of this was usually not in need in the NFL’s infancy, and it led to the best athletes in a team that fulfilled several roles. Look no further than the leading New York Giants from 1933. Tailback Frank Newman led the team casually, hurried and was 5th in receiving yards.
Sammy Baugh had one of the most ridiculous seasons in football history in 1942 when defensive statistics were first traced. Baugh led Washington casually, played the defense and remembered the team leading five interceptions. He also returned kicks and was the Washington’s punt. Bauch literally did it.
The Tway athlete fell along the road as football evolved. Coaches sharpened the strategy and refined the game to shape players into weapons with one purposes. It was better to have scalpels in every position, instead of Swiss armymesses – making the idea that someone could play two positions a gimmick instead of a tool.
Dion Sanders all changed that. When Prime was ready to hit the NFL in 1989, he was one of the most amazing all-round athletes that the country had ever seen. An upper cornerback in Florida State, a light compartment in the baseball team, and even career. There was nothing that Dion could not do, but it was not really Unni 1996 with the Dallas Cowboys that he was unleashed as a real two-out player. While Sanders had attacked to take offensive snaps in Atlanta and San Francisco, the cowboys brought him to a dedicated weapon. That season he started 15 games in the corner and ended with a career-high 475 Yard Review. It might not be the best season of Sanders in the NFL, but it was his most diverse.
From here the term “Two Way Player” was a bit laboled. Of course, we had boys who occasionally played Snaps on both sides of the ball, but “Two Way” refers to the tendency to refer exclusively to players who were EUIT in the attack of defense, but played special teams like a big ledge such as Devin Hester or Dante Hall.
Kordell Stewart is hit as one of the last, real Tway players in the NFL who did not participate in special teams. While the exclusive QB attack of the Steelers, Stewart struck it, relay and rush to become a unicorn in the football of the late 90s. In 1998, Stewart threw more than 2500 meters, I have 406 yards and stood with the receiver on different occasions.
Troy Brown came afterwards, but in a slightly different way. The former Patriot passed from a starting recipient for the most part of his career, to DB when he delayed in his thirty. Brown often appeared on both sides of the ball – yet we didn’t see anyone playing very much like Dion did.
That changes on Thursday evening. Travis Hunter will be the first player in more than 30 years of fighting on both sides of the ball, as his Colorado coach Deion Sanders did – but unlike Sanders, Newman, Baugh, Stewart or Brown: there is a legitimate debate about what his best position could be. Hunter is a real unicorn. An impact player on both sides of football, and he does it without needing a special package or gimmick to make it work. He is just such a stellar athlete with an eye for the ball that he plays two starting posations in the NFL legitimate – and that is completely unique.
Now it’s all about how the browns will use him, and how far the coaching staff goes to put him on the field and let him cook.
