Shohei Ohtani-Travis Hunter comparison draws honest declaration from insider

03/28/2025 08:44 PM

With the 2025 NFL Draft rapidly approaching, one of the more fun peripheral arguments to pop up about the event curiously involves two-way Dodgers MVP Shohei Ohtani.

You see, much like Ohtani, one of the top performers in this year’s class, Travis Hunter, also plays two positions, wide receiver and cornerback, to such a high degree that talent evaluators have been wondering if he could be a two-way player at the NFL level too, and if that is more impressive than Ohtani’s effort in the MLB.

Well, in the opinion of ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan, the answer is simple, really: what Ohtani does is truly one-of-one and places him at a higher level of play than Hunter.

“Shohei Ohtani because he has done it at the big league level. And by the way, to be clear, Travis Hunter should absolutely play cornerback and wide receiver in the NFL, 100 percent. If you have an ability to have a guy out there who can impact both sides of the ball, why would you limit hom from doing so, particularly if he’s on a rookie contract, which is short enough to where you’re not locking him up long term and you’re not going to have any of the like wear and tear issues later on in his life? It’s the NFL, you can get rid of his anyway, contracts aren’t guaranteed,” Passan declared.

“But Ohtani being elite at both levels at the highest level of baseball, if Travis Hunter can be an All-Pro cornerback and an All-Pro wide receiver in the same season, get back to me and we can have a conversation… And I am not minimizing in any way, he’s awesome; I love watching him play, but it’s just a matter of levels.”

While Ohtani’s contributions to the Dodgers aren’t as cardiovascularly demanding as what Hunter brings to the table, as the Colorado corner/receiver has to run all over the field for darn-near 60 minutes each game, getting a starting-caliber pitcher who can hit 40 home runs while stealing 40 bases is simply unmatched in MLB history. If Hunter can match his college production in the NFL, fans will celebrate him as a unicorn, but as Passan pointed out, until he does it at an All-Pro level, fans will have to halt the two-way GOAT debates for the time being.

Travis Hunter or Shohei Ohtani who's more impressive pic.twitter.com/oDIHHzfKAh

— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) March 28, 2025

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