Travis Hunter is currently the runaway favorite to win the award. He also has a chance of getting drafted with the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and everyone is excited to see how he will play at the next level.
Hunter has been a great player for Colorado on both sides of the ball, yet some have doubts about his two-way ability translating into the NFL. Former Heisman winner Johnny Manziel recently appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and talked about the Colorado star’s future in the NFL.
Johnny Manziel Talks About Travis Hunter’s NFL Future
Manziel praised Hunter’s ability and his achievements so far. However, he doesn’t think the 21-year-old will be a full-time two-way player in the league.
“We haven’t seen anything like this,” said Manziel about Hunter. “We haven’t seen anything where a guy’s playing 100 snaps a game, 50 and 50, and really making an impact on both sides of the ball. I think you just see it almost every single week. This guy is just, he’s going to be something special, especially when he gets to the next level.”
“I mean, that would be the first time that we’ve ever really kind of seen that. I think as you get into the NFL, and as you see with these guys, they’re probably, you might have some packages, or a couple of formations or something that you would see, putting him in at receiver. But I don’t think it’s a full-time thing that you can really do at the next level.”
Colorado’s head coach, Deion Sanders, has often said that he will play a role in which teams get to draft Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. He has laid emphasis on allowing the Heisman favorite to play both as a receiver and a cornerback in the NFL, as whichever team does that will get the best out of Hunter.
Sanders has been linked with becoming the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, but he has repeated that he wants to stay at Colorado.
Potential Landing Spots for Hunter in the NFL
If the season ended today, these teams would have the first five picks in the 2025 NFL Draft:
Pro Football Network’s Playoff Predictor has the Browns finishing with the worst record in the NFL and getting the first overall pick in the draft.
There is a possibility that Cleveland may look to draft a quarterback next year. If that happens, they will likely pick either Sanders or Cam Ward.
As a result, Hunter will be available for the rest of the teams, and the Jacksonville Jaguars should draft him. The AFC South franchise already has a quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, and getting a player like Hunter will help their struggling defense and add more spark to their offense.
The Colorado star has played 10 games this year and has 74 receptions for 911 yards, and nine touchdowns, averaging 12.3 yards per reception. He also has recorded 17 solo tackles, seven assists, one tackle for loss, five pass deflections, and three interceptions.