Few NFL draft prospects have entered the league with considerable upside at two positions. Even fewer, if none ever, have that level of upside on opposite ends of the ball. Enter Travis Hunter, a former No. 1 High School recruit in the nation that Deion Sanders got to de-commit from Florida State, ironic as that is, to join him at Jackson State, then leave with him out west to Colorado. The 21-year-old has taken the nation by storm in the last two years, with the almost unheard-of ability to claim he's legitimately the best cornerback and wide receiver in this upcoming NFL Draft.
A winner of the Paul Hornung Award in 2023 and several different awards (including the Heisman Trophy), plus All-Big XII and All-American honors in 2024, Hunter's reputation proceeds him at this point. He also just wrapped up an 1152-yard, 14-TD campaign for the Buffs on 92 grabs and was a human highlight reel on both sides of the ball, but certainly so in a career-best year offensively.
Will Hunter play both sides of the ball full-time once it's time for him to head to his NFL home? Well, if anyone can do it, he certainly can. But how willing would NFL coaches/front offices be to risk someone with his talents getting hurt, thus making a team worse at two positions? That's the several million-dollar question. At this time, my gut says Hunter will likely end up as a cornerback with the ability to line up on offense in certain situations, but ultimately, he holds all the cards in this scenario as to what he wants to do. Based on the tape, how well could Hunter's offensive skills translate to the pros?
Player Bio
Name: Travis Hunter
Jersey: No. 12
Position: Cornerback/Wide Receiver
School: Colorado (by way of Jackson State)
Class: Junior
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 185 lbs
Games Watched: vs. Oregon State and Utah (2023), vs. UCF, Nebraska, and Cincinnati (2024)
Major Injury History: Hunter missed five games during his freshman year at Jackson State with an undisclosed injury (believed to be ankle-related after spraining it coming into that season). He then missed three games in 2023 after suffering a lacerated liver from a hit vs. Colorado State.
Player Breakdown
Hands/Ball Security (9.75/10)
On either side of the ball, Hunter's hands are as good as gold, but especially offensively, with just four career drops, none of which were in these five games. I imagine his wingspan will end up in Justin Jefferson's range (78 inches), and he uses his natural catch radius to his advantage at WR and CB. He's an uber-reliable pass catcher who should be able to make up for some misplaced throws from his QB.
Contested Catch (10/10)
When it comes to the 50/50 /Contested Catch game, Travis Hunter is unreal both on the tape and on the stat sheet. I gave Rome Odunze a perfect score in this area last draft cycle, and factoring in Hunter's full college career, he's BY FAR the best wide receiver prospect when it comes to contested grabs over the last six draft classes from a percentage standpoint. In short, my hands are tied here.
Now, to visualize it, here's one of the reps I saw on tape against Cincinnati on a drive starter in crunch time.
Freakish. No other way to describe that. There are absolutely some more examples out in the wild, but this was too good not to share.
Tracking/Body Control (10/10)
The above play demonstrates Hunter's elite ball-tracking ability, but this is another area where I thought he was unreal across just about every watched game. The best example of body control, an area in which Hunter is beyond special, has ever put out on tape was this score he put up against North Dakota State earlier this year. Another downright preposterous rep falling and making sure he lands in bounds for the score. Half of his highlight mixtapes are essentially these plays, and it's warranted.
Route Running (8.75/10)
Hunter's bread and butter as a route runner is on in-breakers, vertical stuff, and on these option hitches, Colorado had him run (a bit too much for my liking, but I digress). He understands spacing and coverage exceptionally well, which helps with the latter. Tie that in with his twitchiness, stop/start ability, and YAC ability being as elite as it is; that might be the most dangerous tool in his bag.
On the other hand, there were undoubtedly several snaps where Hunter lacked crispness in his route running, and at least in the five games watched, his tree was a bit limited; I can only recall a small handful of outbreaking reps off-hand (mainly just some quick outs). Me saying he can run out-breakers as a pro is one thing, but I simply didn't see it enough of tape. At the very least, I'd like him to be more consistent in his cuts.
Separation (9.25/10)
Of what I've seen of Hunter, his ability to speed up or lull corners to sleep to open himself up was sneakily one of my favorite traits of his. Not that he's incapable of opening himself up with speed or route running ability (he absolutely can), but having that extra ability to completely dictate the pace of the guy in front of you is big time. This did him wonders on those hitches Colorado loved having him run. I also thought Hunter was excellent when it came to jab-stepping to free himself up by working inside on the handful of times he converted those routes into targets and, thus, catches.
Release (7/10)
Off the line, Hunter found a lot of success, especially when it came to working inside off the snap to set up in-breaking routes vs. press. That's not why his score is low. Hunter loses points because he didn't consistently show the ability to work through corners that were aggressive/physical with him off the line. Even when you factor in he's inevitably going to pack on another 10 lbs by next summer, I worry about how much his play strength will improve by the time he puts pads on in NFL camp and if it'll be good enough right away. That also affects some other aspects of his game, which we'll discuss shortly.
Run After the Catch (9.75/10)
Hunter's ability to be a dynamic playmaker after the catch is nothing short of spectacular. Specifically, his 180-spin move that he'll break out working on anything towards the QB is LETHAL (as seen in the above video examples)—TCU Quentin Johnston-level good. Hunter's start/stop skills, twitch, and natural football instincts completely take over with the ball in his hands, and he has a knack for eluding defenders and brushing off soft contact. He has all the skills to become a significant YAC threat in the NFL.
Vertical Speed (9.25/10)
Don't expect Hunter to compete with Xavier Worthy's 40 time from a year ago, but he can flat glide with the best of them otherwise. Obviously, it's not an offensive example here, but the folks over at ReelAnalytics clocked him at just south of 21.5 mph on this chase-down tackle vs. Colorado State back in September.
Now, for an offensive example, watch Hunter get by on the boundary for a deep shot score against TCU in the 2023 season opener.
So, in short, Hunter's not exactly a guy defenders should be eager to gamble on when it's time to go vertical, and that's before you factor in his 50/50 ball prowess.
Burst/Acceleration (4.5/5)
One thing I loved about Hunter's WR tape was his ability to manipulate defenders/coverage in space by letting off the gas just enough before flooring it after the catch. Although I'd like to see him be more aggressive with his burst off the line in certain situations, his stop-start ability is also excellent—otherwise, I'm a big fan of his ability to get through the gears.
Athleticism (5/5)
Hunter's athleticism is pretty easy to see on tape. He's hyperfluid, possesses excellent speed, and can climb the ladder with the best of them. There's also the whole "he plays full time on opposite sides of the ball against D1 athletes" thing, which requires top-one-percent conditioning.
Blocking (2/5)
Hunter's best blocking performance of these five games was in the final game I watched (vs. Cincinnati), but there was more than enough inconsistency in his game that you'd like to see him get cleaned up. Some of it is play strength, some of it is ultimately effort-related, and some of it is conserving energy, given he's playing north of 100 snaps a game most days. In any case, that can't happen if he's a full-time wideout at the next level. Every (serious) NFL team values blocking ability in their receivers.
Versatility (4.5/5)
Hunter has spent a fair amount of time inside and outside the numbers over these past two years (more so outside in 2024), but he has experience at all three receiver spots and has experience working in motion. I'd imagine not every team interested in him at WR would view him as an X, but he could conceivably make it work if he can add some bulk to his frame to combat some of these physical boundary corners he'll eventually get acquainted with if he becomes a full-on pass catcher.
Player Summary
Hunter's ability as a cornerback may still reign supreme, but he's as legit a wide receiver prospect as they come. His high-end traits (hands, body control, spatial awareness, ability to create after the catch, etc.) are out of this-world good and can, at the very least, compete with everyone else in this class, if not surpass them. No matter what side of the ball he ends up on, his functional play strength and durability would be my biggest concern in year one and potentially into year two. However, especially if he's a receiver, he's got the juice and playmaking ability you can work with right away.
Should he transition to full-time offense, Hunter's best usage right away would be as a primary Z receiver, with the ability to go into the slot and occasionally line up as an X if the situation and matchup are right for him. His understanding of zone coverage and how to attack it will get him in his new coach's good graces right away, on top of every other elite trait he brings to the table, but that being one of his best traits at 21 years old is remarkable. I can't give you an outright comp for Hunter, but he's worthy of his hype when talking about him on the offensive side of the ball.
Rookie Projection: Starting Boundary Reciever (Primary Z)
Third-Year Projection: Pro Bowl Caliber Receiver
Final Grade: (89.75/100) Top-10 Talent
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