Julian Edelman vouches for Travis Hunter to play corner in the NFL

Julian Edelman has some words of wisdom for Travis Hunter who intends to play receiver and corner in the NFL.

Julian Edelman vouches for Travis Hunter to play corner in the NFL

Julian Edelman and Travis Hunter (images via IMAGO)

Travis Hunter is attempting to take the road less traveled in the NFL. He has expressed his intent to play both on offense and defense at the highest level despite the level of difficulty. While Hunter intends to play as a wideout and a corner, one veteran who has experience being in his shoes shed light on which position the Heisman winner should focus more on playing.

Julian Edelman played as a wide receiver for most of his career but at the start of his time with the Patriots, he took a few snaps on the defensive side of the ball playing as a corner. While talking about Travis Hunter’s future in the NFL with Rob Gronkowski on the Dudes on Dudes podcast, Edelman said he would like to see Travis Hunter play as a corner.

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The veteran spent his time looking at highlights of the dual-position phenom and these were his takeaways.

When I watch him play on defense as a corner, he’s an exceptional zone corner. I haven’t seen a lot of man…but like his instinct to jump off of his zone to track another zone and reading the quarterback is really good. He’s always like a trap zone defender, he’ll keep his eyes in the backfield.

Edelman said.

Edelman believes playing corner comes naturally to Hunter and it is something he should take full advantage of.

Julian Edelman wants Travis Hunter to play corner as he stands to financially benefit more from the move

Edelman shed some light on his experience of playing two positions, corner and wideout in the NFL at one point.

As a player it made me a better receiver because once I stepped into all the defensive back meetings, I was learning what they were protecting, I was learning on certain things they were doing as safeties…

Edelman added.

But he went on to add that mentally, it was one of the most taxing things he was asked to do. In the NFL, it is not easy to prepare for one position, so naturally, it is a bigger challenge to prepare for two.

Travis Hunter
Travis Hunter (Image via Open Source)

Julian Edelman believes Travis Hunter should prioritize one position in the NFL.

It’s been really impressive to watch him do it in college. I don’t know what he’s going to do as a pro but if I was him I’d go defense because those corners get paid a lot of money and they’d probably give you a package on offense…

Edelman said.

This would be the best move for Hunter as he will still get the opportunity to take snaps on offense and special teams when needed but the majority of the time, he will be able to capitalize on his instincts and play corner. The most important thing is that he will be compensated handsomely for this decision.

The NFL has been rewarding cornerbacks lately. The market is ripe for fresh talent at the position. At present Jalen Ramsey of the Miami Dolphins is the highest-paid player at the position making $24.1 million per year and following him is Pat Surtain II of the Broncos making $24 million per year.

By the time Hunter’s rookie contract comes to an end, the market would have moved further upwards which means he will stand to earn a lot more. Irrespective of playing wideout or corner, one thing is certain, Travis Hunter will not fail to excite with his performance in the NFL.