- The big debate at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this week is, what position will Travis Hunter play in the NFL? Hunter played both wide receiver and cornerback in college.
- Hunter won the Heisman Trophy as the best college football player in 2024, along with numerous other awards.
- The teams with the top two picks in April’s NFL draft have differing opinions on where he’d start his pro career.
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There is a big debate at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana, this year. What position will Colorado superstar Travis Hunter play as a professional?
What is the “Hunter debate” all about?
Is Hunter a wide receiver or a defensive back? Or will he play both? The 6’1”, 185-pound athlete can do anything on a football field and has been described as a “unicorn” for his unique skill set.
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He not only won the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football but also the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top receiver, and the Bednarik Award, given to the nation’s top defensive player.
His statistics during his 2024 college season make him a top 10 pick, no matter where his next team plays him. As a receiver, he played 688 snaps, caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards and scored 15 total touchdowns. As a cornerback, he played nearly the same number of snaps and had 32 tackles, four interceptions and 11 pass breakups.
What do NFL teams think?
The Tennessee Titans, the team with the number one overall pick, would first use him as a cornerback.
“I would say you probably start him at corner, and then you find ways to interject him into the offense as he gets more comfortable, he plays more and more offensively,” Titans head coach Brian Callahan said. ”But I think his corner is probably his starting point, in my opinion, you might get varying opinions on that, but then I think he’s got a real role as a receiver.”
The Cleveland Browns have a differing opinion. General manager Andrew Berry said they would play him as a receiver first.
“It’s six one way, half dozen another. He can play both. I do think that there’s just an element where … his superpower, they’re really his ball skills, and that’s a position (receiver) where you can use it 100 times during the season versus maybe 30 on the high end,” Berry said.
What’s next for Hunter?
The Titans and the Browns are also rumored to be looking at quarterbacks with their top picks, so Hunter may fall to the New York Giants, New England Patriots or the Jacksonville Jaguars, all in the top five of the draft.
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To keep the suspense going, Hunter is at the combine to work out specifically with defensive backs. However, he could stay another day and run with the receivers. We may know more about his plans Thursday, Feb. 27, when he speaks to reporters in Indianapolis.
[Chris]
On the eve of workouts at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis there is one question everyone seems to have a different answer for. What position will Colorado’s superstar Travis Hunter play in the pros? Is he a wide receiver or a defensive back? Or will he play both?
Hunter has been described by many as a “Unicorn” who at 6’1” and 185 lbs can do anything on a football field. Not only did he win the HeismanTrophy as the best player in college football but also the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top receiver and the Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defensive player.
His numbers make him a top 10 pick no matter where his next team plays him.
As a receiver he played 688 snaps in 2024, caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards and 15 total touchdowns. As a cornerback almost the same number of snaps with 32 tackles, four interceptions, and 11 pass break-ups.
So where would the team with the number one overall pick play him?
“I would say you probably start him, he probably starts at corner and then you find ways to interject him into the offense as he gets more comfortable he plays more and more offensively but I think his corner is is probably his starting point in my opinion you might get varying opinions on that but um then I think he’s got a real role as a as a receiver.”
Differing opinions, no doubt about it. Just go down to the second pick in the draft, the Cleveland Browns say they would play him first as a receiver.
“It’s six one way half dozen another he can play both. I do think that there’s just an element where his you know his superpower, his superpower they’re really his ball skills and um that’s a position where you can use it you know 100 times during the season versus maybe 30 on the high end”
Those two teams, the Titans and the Browns are also rumored to be looking at quarterbacks with their top picks so Hunter may fall to the Giants, Patriots, Jaguars or Raiders.
To keep the suspense going Hunter is at the combine to work out with defensive backs however he could stay another day and run with the receivers.
We may know more about his plans Thursday when he speaks to reporters in Indianapolis.
For Straight Arrow News, I’m Chris Francis.
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