Travis Hunter is a generational talent who all teams have an eye on heading into this year’s draft. If he drops below the top four picks, it’ll be a surprise. His ability to play both sides of the ball at such a high level is rare — something the NFL hasn’t seen since his head coach, Deion Sanders.
Trying to project where Hunter will play in the NFL is tricky because he’s so good at both wide receiver and cornerback. But he may have revealed his preference while talking to teams at Colorado’s Pro Day. While early projections had him primarily as a cornerback, Hunter is now trending toward being a wide receiver.
Travis Hunter’s Message to Interested Teams
Hunter started to make it clear he wants to play receiver in the NFL. According to league reports, he told teams he prefers wide receiver, and the biggest hint was that he didn’t do any backpedal drills at his Pro Day.
“The talk is that he’s probably the best player in the draft. He absolutely should go somewhere in the top three. He had the streets buzzing with just the way he was moving around, the athleticism he showed as a wide receiver,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on SportsCenter.
“Talking to teams last night, they thought he was planting the seed that, ‘Hey, I want to be a wideout.’ He didn’t do one backpedal yesterday as a cornerback, despite a lot of teams seeing him as a cornerback above a receiver.”
Hunter won the Heisman Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, and Fred Biletnikoff Award. He was recognized as the best player, top defensive player, and top receiver in college football.
While he can play anywhere, Hunter was named the best receiver in the country. He’s expected to go high in the 2025 NFL Draft and likely won’t make it out of the top five.
NFL teams were impressed by how Hunter moved as a receiver during his Pro Day. And by planting that seed with teams, he’s giving himself some leverage. Teams are still trying to figure out where to play him, though, because he’s elite at both spots.
“They’re grappling with where to play him. Can he truly be a two-way type player? Might be a situation where he’s a receiver and can be a third-down cornerback for a team. I’ve talked to some teams that look at him that way. They’re trying to figure that out, but they almost don’t care because he’s so talented and he’s going to be such a star in the league, they just want to get him.
“So the feeling is like, Giants at No. 3, Patriots at No. 4 would be his absolute floor right now,” Fowler said.
Hunter’s talent is just too good to pass up, no matter where he plays. The New England Patriots might be the last team with a shot to get him because his upside outweighs any concerns about what position he’ll play.
It’s hard to imagine Hunter failing at both spots, but playing both sides consistently might be a big ask early in his NFL career. He wants to be a receiver, but time will tell if that message gets through to the team that drafts him.
Either way, Hunter will be must-watch from Week 1 no matter where he lands.