Travis Hunter admits his position will depend on who drafts him

If Travis Hunter were still in college, he could play wherever he wanted to play. And he could condition his decision on whether his next team will let him play offense and defense.

But in the sorting-hat ritual of the NFL, Hunter's pro football position(s) won't be determined by him. Because he has no way to avoid any team that won't use him the way he'd like to be used.

Hunter knows it. And he knows he has no real choice, given the power of the ultimate reality show about nothing known as the draft.

The draft. Where there's only one commandment: Thou shalt not resist the draft.

Via Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com, Hunter said Friday that whether he'll primarily play cornerback or receiver hinges "on the team that picks me."

It's unprecedented in the modern era of football. Hunter plays both positions well. He surely has a preference. His preference won't matter.

One team might put him at receiver. Another team might put him at cornerback. Yet another might let him play both ways, all the time. Another might allow it sparingly. Another could say "no way" to two-way play.

The Browns, who hold the second pick in the draft, see Hunter primarily as a receiver. Other teams surely see him as a cornerback first.

Hunter officially is willing to submit to whatever the sorting hat says. Because there's really nothing else he can do. Because nothing turns off mainstream football fans more than a player bucking the draft. It last happened in 2004 with Eli Manning, before social media and the full-blown 24/7 generation of NFL content and opinions.

Even though the best players absolutely should push back, pushing back would become grist for the never ending mill of hot takes and polarization. Regardless of what media members truly believe, there would be plenty of money to be made in pitting one talking head against the other as to whether any player should refuse to play for the team that earned the right to pick the player by being one of the worst in the league. And, for some media outlets, shitting on the player for daring to resist would be completely on brand.

So Hunter is stuck. He'll accept wherever he's picked. And then the question will be whether he signs a second contract or discreetly looks for a path to another team — even if it takes refusing an extension, playing out his five-year first-round contract, and making it through a year or two of the franchise tag.