NFL Analysis
10/28/24
6 min read
Travis Hunter 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Colorado Buffaloes WR/CB
Height: 6010 (unofficial)
Weight: 185 (unofficial)
Year: Junior
Pro Comparison: Champ Bailey
Scouting Overview
Colorado Buffaloes athlete Travis Hunter is a team-builder’s dream. Hunter has shown elite abilities on both sides of the football, and his instincts and athleticism offer him a seemingly unlimited ceiling at the NFL level.
Teams that desire a run-after-catch threat in the passing game could target him as a wide receiver capable of lining up all over the formation. Teams looking for an impact zone defender on the outside with ball-hawking capabilities could target him as a lockdown starter outside.
Hunter has some of the most eye-popping plays in coverage you’ll see in this year’s class — illustrating rare instincts despite splitting his time equally on either side of the ball. The term generational is often abused in the scouting space, but Hunter is the type of player we haven’t seen in decades.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Elite football instincts in all phases; he is a surreal playmaker on both sides of the football
- Tremendous stamina, as evidenced by his ability to play non-stop in a high-elevation environment like Boulder.
- Elite fluidity, flexibility, and short-area explosiveness in space
Negatives
- Time on task at either position leaves room for refinement and growth at either position, receiver or cornerback
- Does not have the biggest frame, and functional play strength is not a hallmark skill
- Has suffered injuries in each of his three seasons at the collegiate level — it is worth monitoring workload and usage long-term
Background
Travis Hunter played his high school football at Collins Hill HS in Suwanee, Georgia. There, he cemented his status as a Georgia HS football legend, breaking the state record for receiving touchdowns (48) while playing cornerback and wide receiver.
Hunter earned the status of the No. 1 recruit in the country as a 5-star prize (247 Sports) before committing to Jackson State and head coach Deion Sanders. Hunter went down in history as a recruit as well, becoming the highest-ranked recruit to commit to an HBCU program.
During his lone season at Jackson State, Hunter played both ways and was named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award as a true freshman. He also collected SWAC Freshman of the Year and Second-Team All-SWAC honors despite missing four games due to injury.
With Coach Sanders taking the Colorado head coaching position, Hunter partook in the exodus of talent from Jackson State to Colorado, quickly establishing himself on the FBS level as a rare two-way talent. He missed an additional three and a half games on account of a lacerated liver suffered on a crushing blow taken against Colorado State.
Despite the missed time, Hunter played more snaps from scrimmage than any other FBS player in 2023, thanks to serving as a full-time wide receiver and cornerback. He was awarded First-Team All-American honors and became the eighth player to receive consensus All-American honors while also scoring Academic All-American status. Hunter was also named the 2023 Paul Hornung Award for the country’s most versatile player.
Tale Of The Tape
There are blue-chip prospects, and then there is this.
Travis Hunter is a rarity as a legitimate two-way option for the NFL. From a performance perspective, I firmly believe his best outlook lies on the defensive side of football. However, each franchise will have different criteria for traits at either position, and I can foresee a split among NFL franchises as to where to implement Hunter. The underlying commonality is that this is a player who has elite abilities to offer every team—it’s just a matter of where.
Hunter is a rare mover in space; his foot speed, hip fluidity, and body control allow him to showcase elite change of direction ability both with the ball in his hands as a receiver and playing as an off-corner in coverage. The center of gravity is always under control, allowing Hunter to move with the utmost efficiency when he’s got his angles right. There’s short-area burst, long speed, and lower-body explosion to elevate and go along with that agility, making him a dynamic athlete in all phases.
At cornerback, it is easy to be blown away by his wide field of vision and anticipation for attacking targets in zone. The ability to leverage multiple routes is amplified by his dynamic transitional quickness, which allows him to squeeze multiple layers of throws on a single rep and get to footballs that almost any other player wouldn’t.
Hunter is an elite defender in zone coverage and has shown growth in his man coverage ability in 2024. The ability to play dominating press coverage won’t be aided by overwhelming strength and power, but Hunter has fluid hips and enough length to dissuade clean releases at a high level in the NFL. He needs to be wary of overplay in the contact window but can keep faith in his recovery speed if he’s challenged vertically and stacked early in the rep.
Positioning is where Hunter has the most room to gain ground at the position and become a more impactful player with consistency. He’s physically unlimited in the prospects of off-man, zone match, press, true country zone, and everything in between. However, Hunter’s positioning, footwork, and hand placement should be considered easy fixes if he invests his time in this side of the ball.
If Hunter is charged with playing at wide receiver, his early impact should be expected to manifest with the ball in his hands. He is “blink and you’ll miss him” quick with his cuts and can slither through traffic to get out into open space.
Hunter is savvy with his eyes and hips at the catch point to set up defenders for a missed tackle challenge and create room to run as well. He’s developed excellent chemistry with QB Shedeur Sanders, who can unlock Hunter’s body control with back shoulder throws and high-point opportunities against man coverage in the scramble drill.
Like at cornerback, the growth looms largest at the line of scrimmage, where Hunter could further build out his package of releases against different looks and coverages to set himself up for more success at the top of routes and help him better cultivate separation on a snap by snap basis.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Dealer’s choice. Hunter has the instincts to play on either side of the ball or even both. I do believe his ceiling as a player is higher at cornerback, where his length, ball skills, catching ability, fluidity, instincts, and short-area quickness combine for a genuinely generational type of talent.
Grade: 90.50/100.00, Top 10 Overall Valuation
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
