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There has not been an NFL Draft prospect like Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter in recent memory. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is the sole player in FBS history (since 1978) with at least 1,000 receiving yards, 10 receiving touchdowns and three interceptions in a season, per CBS Sports Research.
Upon meeting with teams around the league in the weeks leading up to the NFL draft, he's made it clear he wants to continue playing both sides of the ball as a professional -- something he told CBS Sports isn't an issue for any club he's met with. However, if an NFL team told him it'd only allow him to play either wide receiver or cornerback, Hunter would make it clear he's not playing football at all.
"It's never playing football again," Hunter told CBS Sports last week. "Because I've been doing it my whole life, and I love being on the football field. I feel like I could dominate on each side of the ball, so I really enjoy doing it."
The 21-year-old Hunter played 713 offensive snaps and 748 defensive snaps in 2024, which made him the only player since at least 2017 with at least 250 snaps played on both offense and defense in a single season, per CBS Sports Research. The competition at the NFL level will undoubtedly be more difficult, but Hunter feels like that won't be a roadblock to him being a two-way difference-maker in the professional ranks.
"I just feel very confident in myself, and I got a competitive spirit that I can do whatever I put my mind to, and I feel like I can do it."
Surprisingly, Hunter feels like the mental aspect of lining up on both sides of the football will be tougher than the wear and tear of playing a high volume of snaps. Fortunately for Hunter when it comes to the mental side of playing corner, Deion Sanders has been his teacher. Many view the Pro Football Hall of Fame corner as the greatest to ever line up at the position.
"It's been a blessing learning from the best to play that position, and you want to be better than him, so it's good to be in that position," Hunter said. "Just him telling me to just be where my feet are and take every moment and enjoying, knowing you only get to do it one time"
Sanders was also effusive at Colorado's Pro Day that Hunter could succeed in the league as a two-way player.
"Both," Sanders said on NFL Network's coverage of Colorado's Pro Day when asked what side of the ball Hunter will play in the NFL. "The NFL is a slow game. You huddle (every play). How is the contact nowadays? Minimal. That game is more conducive to him being successful than a college game. College is tempo, tempo, tempo. Now, you're talking about you have to be in shape. Pros, how many seconds between plays? Please, he's going to go jogging after the darn game because he's going to have all that energy man. He is built for this."
To Sanders' point, an average of 35.5 seconds passed between snaps league wide in the NFL in the 2024 season, whereas the average time between snaps in the FBS this past season was slightly faster at 31.8 seconds, per TruMedia.
And Hunter had no problem dominating the competition in 2024. While being on the field for the most total snaps in a season (1,484) by any player since at least 2017, Hunter ranked tied for second in the FBS in receiving touchdowns (15), tied for fourth in receptions (96) and fifth in receiving yards (1,258) -- all while hauling in four interceptions and registering a forced fumble.
Next stop, Cleveland Browns?
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski all attended Colorado's Pro Day, and Sanders believes after speaking to Haslam that either Hunter or his son, former Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders, will be their draft choice with the 2025 draft's second overall pick. Being the second player drafted isn't Hunter's goal, but he would be happy to be taken near the top.
"It's up to them to want me to be on their team and the organization to believe that they can let me do exactly what I want to do, and that's play both sides of the ball and be the same Travis that I was in college and better," Hunter said. "I don't believe in wishing to be the second overall pick. If it was up to me, I'll be the first overall pick. I'm blessed to be the best player in this, one of the best players in this draft, in this class, so I'm blessed to be where I'm at."
At the NFL Scouting Combine in February, Berry acknowledged they can see him playing both ways but that wide receiver would be the priority.
"In terms of Travis Hunter; cornerback or receiver, the answer is 'yes.' He can play both and I think that's what makes him special," Berry said. "But we would see him as a receiver primarily first. But I think what makes him a bit of a unicorn is that he can do both at a high level."
When told about Berry's comments, Hunter deferred to Cleveland's braintrust, opting to discuss specific details behind closed doors.
"It's not up to me," Hunter said. "When they call my name, if they call my name, then we'll figure that out, but it's not up to me. That's what they think about me right now."
| Browns passing ranks (2024 season) | Offense | Defense |
|---|---|---|
Yards per pass attempt | 5.9 (last) | 7.6 (26th) |
Passing touchdowns | 19 (28th) | 26 (T-17th) |
Interceptions | 23 (last) | 4 (last) |
Passer rating | 71.4 (last) | 98.9 (27th) |
Why Hunter feels Shedeur Sanders is the best QB in the draft
Shedeur Sanders has been making the case all draft cycle to be the first quarterback selected, citing his decision-making and accuracy that led to him having the best completion percentage in all of college football in 2024. Hunter doubled down on his teammate's take that he should be the first quarterback selected in the 2025 draft.
"He don't fold under pressure, he is very accurate, and you know he's going to make the right plays, and he's going to the right thing with the football," Hunter said of his college quarterback. "He's the best quarterback in the draft, so it's pretty self explanatory. They know he's the best quarterback in the draft, so you shouldn't have to argue and talk about it."
Living out a childhood dream
Even though fishing is one of Hunter's biggest go-to activities when he has time to relax -- he called himself "a goofy kid who loves football and loves to fish" -- he won't pull a Joe Thomas and be on a boat fishing come draft day. He'll be in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to walk on stage when his name is called, taking the next giant step in his football journey.
"It'll just be a blessing," Hunter said of being able to walk on stage as an NFL draft pick. "I'll be the first person in my family to be able to do that. I'm also the oldest in my immediate family, and I have younger siblings. ... My little siblings look up to me, and they know their big brother is doing everything that he put his mind to."
One of the things Hunter said he wanted to do when he grew up was to "be in one of the Snickers commercials." Now, he's doing just that by partnering with Snickers Ice Cream to make a Snickers "Two-Pack" representative of Hunter playing both wide receiver and cornerback on a full-time basis.
"It's called the two-pack. It's one ice cream bar for me being a receiver, and the chocolate bar for me being a corner, so you get the best of both worlds in one packet. ... I'm excited to be able to be partnered with them and be able to be a part of the team."
