Travis Kelce believes NFL teams will ruthlessly target Travis Hunter in a bid to ‘get him tired’ if he plays both offense and defense for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Hunter is gearing up for his rookie season in Jacksonville after being drafted No. 2 overall by the Jaguars back in April.
The Heisman Trophy winner, who got married to Leanna Lenee this offseason, got his hands on that coveted award due to his breathtaking versatility as both a wide receiver and a cornerback in the college ranks.
Jaguars head coach Liam Coen has suggested Hunter will be a two-way player for his team in the coming season, revealing last month that he was practicing on both sides of the ball.
Yet according to Kelce, lining the 22-year-old up on defense could backfire when teams ‘run deep balls at him all day’ to wear him out.
During an appearance on the Bussin With The Boys podcast, the Kansas City Chiefs legend was first asked if he thinks Hunter will be successful in the NFL, to which he replied: ‘Hell yes, 100 percent. World-class athlete.’
Travis Kelce says NFL teams will ruthlessly target Travis Hunter if he plays defense for the Jags
Hunter appears likely to play on both sides of the ball in his rookie season for Jacksonville
However, when asked about the prospect of him playing both sides, Kelce continued: ‘Both sides? See that’s the thing… I don’t know how they’re gonna divvy it out, cause teams are gonna be going after him. 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 to take off on him all day, just to try and get him tired. Why wouldn’t you just attack him that way?’
Kelce has previously offered up words of warning for Hunter amid his ambitions to play both sides in the NFL.
On an episode of his New Heights podcast in March, the Chiefs tight end said: ‘I just think that mentality [playing both sides] – it can wear a guy out. I’m not saying that he can’t do it because I was blown away by what he could do in college in terms of playing every single down.
‘If he is going to do that, I think it’s smarter to scheme it up to where you know you’re not putting him in a vulnerable position to get tired out faster.’
Travis’ older brother Jason then read a quote from Hunter’s coach at Colorado – Deion Sanders – which said the plan was for the rookie to play both positions or else NFL teams should not draft him.
Travis then threw his support behind Hunter when he replied: ‘I think he’s proven that he needs to play on both sides of the ball.’
But Kelce has warned the Heisman Trophy winner that NFL teams will try to wear him out
He continued: ‘I think it’s easier for him to be on the field all the time as a defensive player and then offensively coming in on certain plays. I think that is so much easier… I think he could be more influential.
‘What’s the point in certain run downs when you know it’s run to have him on the field going in there, scooping out a safety. Could he do it? Yeah. Could I get another guy to do it? Probably.
‘He’s a f****n’ all-around athlete, dude. You can put him anywhere on the football field. You can give him the reverses, you can do anything with him on the football field…
‘When you watch him run, you’re like “yeah, we should probably throw him the ball.”‘
