Mel Kiper Jr. breaks down Travis Hunter’s NFL Draft dilemma
Sep 5, 2024, 12:07 PM | Updated: Sep 6, 2024, 2:09 pm
Two-way star Travis Hunter is already being talked about as the best football player in the 2025 NFL Draft, and yet he may get selected behind his teammate Shedeur Sanders. Such is life in this sport where nobody, not even a player who plays two positions, is more valuable than a great quarterback.
But could Hunter seriously play two ways in the pros? ESPN’s First Draft Podcast and their experts debated the topic on Thursday.
Hunter played the most snaps in college football in 2023 despite missing three-and-a-half games because he plays both wide receiver and cornerback. In the Colorado Buffaloes’ season-opener, Hunter played over 100 snaps, not being on the field for just two plays the entire game.
“He could be a Hall of Fame receiver, he could be a Hall of Fame corner,” longtime NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said. “… Travis Hunter to me is the best player if you think about Champ Bailey 25 years ago when he came out of Georgia where he did everything and he was a Hall of Famer corner. Travis Hunter does everything at Colorado, he lights up the scoreboard and prevents the scoreboard from being lit up but I think he has to be on the offensive side of the ball.”
Field Yates agreed with Kiper about Hunter likely leaning toward offense mentioning that the highest-paid cornerback makes nearly $10 million less per season compared to the highest-paid wide receiver. But Yates belives Hunter will want to play both ways before choosing a position and Kiper thinks Hunter will begin his career on both sides of the ball.
“Early on I think he could, he may be asked to do that,” Kiper said. “The skillset he has at corner and at wideout, he’s so dynamic, the catches, the combativeness, how smart he is… the one thing is how the quarterbacks’ factor in affects Travis Hunter.”
While the two went back and forth on what position Hunter will play, they agreed that right now Hunter is the best prospect in this year’s Draft and will likely be the highest non-quarterback taken.
“The areas that make him a great wide receiver make him a great cornerback and vice versa,” Yates said.
Yates leaned toward Hunter being a better defensive back while Kiper thinks his abilities at wide receiver are just too good to pass up.
The full conversation is below:
Hunter notched a hat trick of touchdowns on seven catches for 132 yards in Colorado’s first game, while being a big part of the Buffaloes shutdown of the NDSU Bison on the outside. A bigger test is this week with the hyped-up Cornhuskers hosting Hunter and the Buffs this Saturday.
