The NFL doesn't need more two-way players. But wouldn't it be fun?
That's the idea of ESPN's new article out Monday, which chooses one player from every team who could have the best chance of making it as a two-way guy in the league.
For the Denver Broncos, the choice was safety Talanoa Hufanga.
They picked Hufanga over Courtland Sutton, who played basketball in college in addition to football, and Patrick Surtain II, who is known to want to get snaps at wide receiver.
And for good reason. Hufanga was legit.
"When Hufanga was at Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis, Oregon, there were recruiting services that had him rated the No. 1 'athlete'' in the nation because of his work on both sides of the ball as a runner, receiver, quarterback and safety," ESPN's Jeff Legwold wrote. "In his final two prep seasons, Hufanga had a combined seven interceptions on defense to go with 24 rushing touchdowns, 11 receiving touchdowns and seven touchdown passes on offense."
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Hufanga plays defense like his hair is on fire. That's how he captured a lot of immediate fans when he broke into the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers, and it's why the Broncos wanted Hufanga as a free agent this offseason.
It's not hard to imagine what it'd look like to put the ball in his hands. He'd play with the same intensity, just going the other way. There's no chance he'd be easy to tackle.
This one sounds like it'd be genuinely fun to see play out. Maybe Broncos coach Sean Payton can do us all a favor and let us just see one offensive snap for Hufanga. He might just do something cool.
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