In 15 days, we will know what the Patriots are doing with their No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Whether that means they stick-and-pick the best player available, or stick-and-pick a position of need, or trade down for more draft capital this year or next, or trade the pick completely for a proven elite talent, or trade up into the top three - whatever it is, we’ll have the pleasure of knowing in just over two weeks time.
Until then, we’ll continue to let the speculation and hypotheticals run wild.
In recent days, there’s been rumors that have Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter going as high as No. 2 to the Browns, as well as rumors of Hunter falling into the lap of the Patriots at No. 4. To legislate all the different stuff that’s out there at this point would be a losing battle - it’s just a hodge podge of reporters being fed things from agents and teams mixed in with mock drafts from a varied group of “experts” across the board.
With the Heisman Trophy winner being a possibility for New England at the top of the draft in some form or fashion, his desire to play both sides of the ball full-time at the pro level has to be a part of the conversation.
This invites the obvious comparisons to three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, who has spent a majority of his career as both a full-time designated hitter and full-time starting pitcher, doing both at an elite level. While he has not pitched in a major league game since August of 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, he is reportedly slated to return to the mound at some point in May, vaulting him onto the marquee of a pitching staff already chock-full of household names.
With Hunter being named the best player in college football in 2024 while playing both sides of the ball, some in the media like Jones and Keefe on WEEI believe Hunter-to-Ohtani is an apt comparison:
On Wednesday morning, WEEI’s Jermaine Wiggins made it clear on The Greg Hill Show that he is not on board with this take.
“Shohei Ohtani is an amazing baseball player, and is doing something that, you know, we haven’t seen done in a long time,” said Wiggy. “But can we stop - and I heard Jones and Keefe talking about this yesterday - can we stop trying to compare Travis Hunter to Shohei Ohtani?
“It is two completely different things. Just because Shohei can do it at the major league level, it is much different. There’s no game planning, he’s pitching once every five days. So he might not be, you know, even working on his pitching every single day because he doesn’t wanna burn his arm out. The level of what you have to do mentally in learning a gameplan, studying film, understanding the route tree, work your - I know you hate the word, Greg - craft every day as a receiver or as a defensive back, you don’t have the ability to miss days.
“So when we talk about, ‘Has it been done before?’ And we say, ‘Well look at Shohei.’ No - the last guy to do it consistently in the NFL was ‘Concrete Chuck,’ Chuck Bednarik. And that was 1961 or ’62, along those lines. So can we stop with, ‘Well if Shohei can do it at an elite level, then Travis Hunter can do it at an elite level.’ I think Travis Hunter can definitely be a change-of-pace gadget guy, whether he’s playing 95% of the offensive snaps and then they say, ‘OK, we need a stop here,’ and it’s 3rd and 15 or 3rd and 12. ‘Travis, we’re playing man-to-man, you got that guy. Or vice versa, if he’s playing 98% [at] cornerback, and they say, ‘Alright, we’re gonna run a reverse with you, we’re gonna throw a quick screen to you.’ Like, you can do that. But to compare him to a guy in a sport that is way different, and a guy who’s elite at both hitting and pitching is ridiculous.”
“OK, Wiggy,” said WEEI’s Greg Hill. “You want it to stop?”
“Yes please,” said Wiggy. “Like, stop it. It’s madness now.”
It’s important to note that Wiggy’s insight into the intensity of mastering just one side of the ball at the NFL level is something he’s going to have a better understanding of than me, Jones and Keefe, and 99.9% of our readers/listeners. Having played tight end for five teams in seven seasons from 2000 to 2006, Wiggy knows how hard it is to master one side of the ball in the NFL, let alone two.
But on Tuesday, someone who has excelled on both sides of the football for the Patriots was asked if he felt playing both sides full-time was possible in today’s game.
Here’s what cornerback/wide receiver Marcus Jones told the media at Gillette Stadium:
“I feel like it’s one of those situations to where whenever people were first saying ‘you can’t really play both sides in general in the league,’ and then I get here and eventually I started playing. But playing both sides - I’m not gonna say you can’t do it, but it’s a very long season.”
If Hunter lands somewhere else in 15 days, this may never be a story Patriots fans have to worry about again (other than worrying about him as an opponent, of course).
But until then, let’s have fun with the idea that football’s modern day Jim Thorpe could be donning the Flying Elvis on his helmet this fall.
Stay locked in to WEEI and WEEI.com for all the latest on the Patriots’ offseason.