A unicorn in every sense of the word, where does Colorado Buffaloes playmaker Travis Hunter rank in the 2025 NFL Draft class? More importantly, what position should he play at the next level?
Hunter is the face of college football, and his exploits at both wide receiver and cornerback have earned him a reputation as a potential all-time great. How can he carry that legacy to the NFL and build upon it?
Travis Hunter’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’1″
- Weight: 185 pounds
- Position: Wide Receiver/Cornerback
- School: Colorado
- Current Year: Junior
The Greatest Show on Turf — Volume 2 — may be upon us. His name is Travis Hunter.
The Buffaloes football program — in spite of its 4-8 record in 2023 — quickly became a source of media frenzy. Head coach Deion “Prime” Sanders and quarterback Shedeur Sanders bear some responsibility for this, but Hunter is the star.
Hunter was Prime’s prized recruiting victory in the NFL Hall of Famer’s time at Jackson State, but the elder Sanders had to fight to get him. Hunter was as coveted as any recruit in modern history — a consensus five-star talent out of Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia.
The best recruits establish themselves as a cut above, and Hunter did just that. As a junior, he caught 137 passes for 1,746 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also logged eight interceptions on the defensive side of the ball. As a senior, despite missing five games, he put up 1,128 yards, 10 touchdowns, and four interceptions.
Hunter first committed to Florida State — returning to his home state of Florida — but Sanders would soon sway him to come to Jackson State. Hunter flipped his commitment, becoming the first ever five-star recruit to sign with an HBCU and FCS school.
Together, the Sanders father-son duo and Hunter helped revitalize JSU’s football program. The Tigers went 12-1 in 2022, and Hunter was an asset on defense, notching two INTs, a pick-six, and eight pass deflections.
In 2023, Sanders made the move to Colorado, and Hunter followed along. Hunter would go on to be one of the few bright spots during the Buffaloes’ 2023 campaign. On offense, he nabbed 57 receptions for 721 yards and five TDs. On defense, he added three picks, five PBUs, and two tackles for loss — all in just nine games.
Hunter has been elite at both WR and CB, but how does he translate at each spot? Which position might be best for him at the next level, and could he bring the two-way role back in the modern NFL?
Below, we’ll aim to answer all of these questions.
Hunter’s WR Scouting Report
Strengths
- Tall and lean receiving threat with above-average length and reach.
- Has elite explosive capacity and fleet-footed acceleration, as well as vertical speed.
- Snappy, energized lateral mover who can send defenders lurching with sudden spins.
- Has shown to stack defenders off split releases, using swipes and jabs to break free.
- With his speed and bend, can carve past zone and off-man defenders and find space.
- Hip sink, paired with speed, burst, and agility, fuels an iron-clad separation framework.
- Flashes excellent plant-and-drive efficiency, cutting extremely tight angles on breaks.
- Can execute 90-degree cuts off violent jab steps and explode outside on corner routes.
- Can press upfield into stems and sustain rapid acceleration through route transitions.
- Has a functional release package and route tree, and fluidity yields him vast versatility.
- Has the flexibility and bend to make logic-defying positioning adjustments downfield.
- Possesses absurd ball-tracking skills and is authoritative snaring passes with his hands.
- Has stellar hand technique and coordinating instincts and can easily gather RAC throws.
- Hyper-elite catching instincts and body control routinely guide him to the ball.
- Has near-superhuman stamina and versatility between the boundary and the slot.
Weaknesses
- Is lighter than average for a WR and could stand to add more mass to his frame.
- Sometimes works too far upfield on releases, drifting into his defender’s frame.
- Can improve tempo and control on releases to properly offset and attack upfield.
- Route tree, while functional, still has room to expand further with multi-layered routes.
- On occasion, works himself off-balance when trying to offset with diamond releases.
- At times, can be quicker to enter the scramble drill and seek second-wave separation.
- Sometimes struggles to dictate catch positioning with defenders inside his frame.
- Naturally lacks elite contact balance and play strength after the catch.
- Long speed, while stellar, may be a notch below the elite mark.
- Is not a notable blocking presence, and his usage limits his run-blocking exposure.
- Will have to add mass and improve run blocking to avoid being a pass-down tell.
Hunter’s CB Scouting Report
Strengths
- Tall, lean, and impressively fluid cover man with decent proportional length.
- Has outrageous hip sink and flexibility for his size, allowing for seamless transitions.
- Can make sharp 270-degree transitions and channel instant acceleration out of breaks.
- Combines uncommon redirection freedom with elite explosiveness out of transitions.
- Has the elite snap and corrective twitch to jolt in and out of breaks with rapid speed.
- Flashes elite zone awareness in Cover 2, recognizing and undercutting corner routes.
- Elite 2-on-1 pre-route recognition allows him to bait quarterbacks and swiftly capitalize.
- Sharp processor who can pass off and carry routes in zone with rare proficiency.
- Certified route bandit with his telepathic spatial IQ, instincts, and eye discipline in zone.
- Can use hyper-elite fluidity and instant decelerative capacity to clamp down on hitches.
- Plays with feet first in man coverage and can vary his technique based on situation.
- Generational playmaking threat who gravitates to the ball with GPS-like tracking.
- Has flashed the ability to play through the receiver’s hands with his back to the ball.
- Shows off superb long speed and range in recovery, and can close gaps in pursuit.
- Very willing support CB who can square up boundary runners and wrap on tackles.
Weaknesses
- Is lighter than average for a cornerback and could stand to add more mass to his frame.
- On occasion, can be uncontrolled when hinging around in zone, drifting past breaks.
- At times exhibits a slight false step in press-man, which can impact timing and leverage.
- Sometimes idles too long off the snap in press-man, allowing receivers to get a step.
- On occasion, turns his hips upfield too early, allowing receivers easy paths inside on breaks.
- Sometimes resorts to grabbing when attempting to stay in larger receivers’ frames.
- Can get outmuscled by stronger receivers in contested situations.
- Weight can undermine his ability to prevent displacement against boundary run blocks.
- Struggles to control positioning as a support defender and can be rerouted in space.
- Long speed, while stellar, may be a notch below the elite mark.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Hunter grades out as an early-to-mid first-round prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft — at both WR and CB. He’s in contention for the top spot at both positions, and there’s an argument to make that, with his versatility, he’s a true blue-chip prospect worthy of top-10 capital.
At both positions, two traits stand out as central qualities to Hunter’s game: His hyper-elite athletic profile and his generational ball skills and catch-point instincts.
Hunter simply moves differently. He brings awe-inspiring explosiveness, twitch, bend, and sink with his 6’1″ frame. He can use these dynamic traits either to gash coverages as a route runner, generate RAC yards in space, or match WRs and transition in zone coverage with effortless ease.
As a cornerback, Hunter’s ability to sense where the ball is going and position himself to make plays is truly extraordinary, and it separates him as a deadly turnover-generating force. But those same catching instincts also make him very reliable as a receiving threat on offense.
As it stands, Hunter is my WR1 over Tetairoa McMillan and Luther Burden III. He’s my CB3, in a close positional race with Will Johnson, Benjamin Morrison, and Shavon Revel.
At the NFL level, Hunter might be better served to focus on one position more than the other to avoid spreading himself too thin. But it’s also true that we simply haven’t seen anything like him. He could be the rare, truly viable two-way player.
Hunter must improve his play strength and add a bit more mass before he makes the NFL leap. But at wide receiver, Hunter’s preferred brand of physicality — deconstruction as a separator rather than obstruction as a coverage defender — may be more translatable long term.
At WR, Hunter would be a dynamic three-level threat as a movement-Z receiver. He’d also be well-equipped to dominate in a space-dominated modern NFL, so long as he can become a competent run blocker.
Regardless of position, if Hunter can keep trending up in areas that are more attuned to physicality, he can be a blue-chip and top-10 prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft with the transcendent athleticism and playmaking instincts to be a side-diverse weapon.