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).
Dawkins earned a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after roaming the defensive backfield as a hard-hitting safety for both the Eagles and Denver Broncos. But the nine-time Pro Bowler and member of the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 2000s also made a splash with his hands in 2002. In a win against the Houston Texans, Dawkins caught a shovel pass from Brian Mitchell on a fake punt and ran 57 yards for a touchdown. Dawkins became just the third player in modern NFL history to record a receiving touchdown and an interception in the same game, joining former Cleveland Browns linebacker Jim Houston in 1966 and safety-turned-receiver Roy Green, who did it for the then-St. Louis Cardinals in 1981.
Edelman, who played quarterback in college at Kent State, developed into a Swiss Army knife for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in 2011. While guys like Troy Brown and Mike Vrabel previously saw action on both offense and defense under Belichick in New England, Edelman became the first of the Patriots' two-way players to record 15-plus snaps on both offense and defense in the same game en route to helping the squad earn a spot in Super Bowl XLVI. Edelman is one of three players in the past 25 years with 15 snaps on offense and defense in a single game, joining Mike Furrey, who did it for the Browns three times in 2009, and Scott Matlock, who accomplished the feat twice for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024.
Jones had an electric rookie campaign for Belichick and the Patriots in 2022. The third-round pick became the third rookie in the Super Bowl era to record a reception and an interception in the same game, joining Ken Riley (Cincinnati Bengals) in 1969 and Deion Sanders (Atlanta Falcons) in 1989. Jones is the only one who did it twice. He also was just the third modern player who caught a touchdown and returned an interception for a score in the same season. Vrabel (2005) and J.J. Watt (2014) are the other two.
Sanders, who was Hunter's coach for each of his three seasons in college, started on both offense and defense in eight games for the Dallas Cowboys in 1996. The Pro Football Hall of Famer and former MLB star was a first-team All-Pro cornerback for the Cowboys and also had 36 catches for 475 yards and a touchdown at receiver that season. Since 1996, no other player has had two career games in which he started on both offense and defense.
Vrabel won three Super Bowls and earned a first-team All-Pro selection as a linebacker for the Patriots in the 2000s. While he returned an interception for a touchdown in 2005 for his only career defensive score, Vrabel found the end zone plenty of times on offense. Vrabel caught 10 passes as a tight end in a Patriots uniform. All of them resulted in a touchdown. He also had a touchdown reception in Super Bowl XXXVIII and Super Bowl XXXIX.
Watt earned his stripes on the defensive side of the ball, grabbing three NFL Defensive Player of Year awards with the Texans. The five-time first-team All-Pro defensive end had three career defensive touchdowns (two interception returns and a fumble return) while wreaking havoc near the line of scrimmage. Watt also had three career scores on offense while seeing limited action as a tight end on the goal line.
Check out the ESPN NFL hub page for the latest news, features, analysis, schedules, fantasy football and more.