The NFL hasn’t seen an athlete like Travis Hunter since the man coaching him, Deion Sanders, took the league by storm as a wide receiver/cornerback/returner/playmaker. While many others have tried, such as Devin Hester or, more recently, Patrick Ricard and Scotty Matlock, only Sanders was an elite talent on both sides of the ball.
Yet, there’s a strong sense that Hunter is in his own class as a player fully capable of being drafted as either a receiver or cornerback. But what about both? Would Hunter merit a top-five pick at either position and can he legitimately play both sides of the ball in the NFL just as he does for the Colorado Buffaloes?
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Is Travis Hunter a WR or a CB? Can he play both ways in the NFL?
If the 2025 NFL Draft started today, chances are Travis Hunter would be a top-five pick. He might even be the first player selected by a team like the Jacksonville Jaguars, who hold the No. 1 pick.
But just how good is Hunter as a receiver? What about as a cornerback? What’s his primary position? Can teams reasonably expect him to handle a significant workload on offense and defense? These are just some of the questions NFL evaluators are asking themselves, and recently, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wondered the same thing.
“Then, there’s two-way player Travis Hunter, who’ll be the draft’s most interesting player. No one denies how remarkable it is what he’s doing. The question is what he’ll be in the NFL—it’s hard to imagine he’ll be able to carry close to the workload he’s had at Colorado. So then the question becomes whether he’ll be a corner or receiver, and whether he’s good enough at either, in a vacuum, to be a top-five pick. Obviously, Hunter’s going to go high. How high will likely ride on how teams answer those questions.”
SI’s Albert Breer on Travis Hunter
Only three wide receivers have ever been drafted first overall. The last time a receiver was drafted first was in 1996 when the Jets landed on Keyshawn Johnson. The last time a pass-catcher was drafted second was Hall of Fame wideout Calvin Johnson in 2007.
Only one cornerback was ever drafted first, and it happened back in 1956. Recently, the Houston Texans made cornerback Derek Stingley Jr the third overall pick in 2022.
So, if Hunter becomes the first overall pick, he’d be the first cornerback to do so, yet labeling him as a defensive player only would be selling him short. No matter whether his NFL team asks him to focus on playing receiver or cornerback more, the most intriguing factor will be how much he can play both sides of the ball, and if you’re the team that drafts him, why not try him as a multi-positional weapon?
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