2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Travis Hunter

Prospect Summary:

Coming out of high school, Hunter was one of the top recruits in the nation, and he shocked the college football world when he signed on with Jackson State and head coach Deon Sanders. In his freshman season, Hunter had 18 catches for 190 yards and four touchdowns on offense. At cornerback, he had 19 tackles, two interceptions, and eight passes broken up. After that season, Hunter transferred to Colorado, following Sanders to the Buffalos. In 2023, he was a two-way star while playing through injuries. He caught 57 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns. On defense, he had 31 tackles with five passes broken up and three interceptions. In 2024, Hunter had 96 receptions for 1,258 yards with 15 touchdowns receiving and one rushing. He has 35 tackles with four interceptions, 11 passes broken up, and a forced fumble on defense. He won the Heisman Trophy for his final season in a legendary college football career.

Hunter is not the biggest player, so he will have to be protected from a snap count that could expose him to injury. Hunter had an ankle injury in 2022, a liver injury in 2023, and a shoulder injury in 2024. Thus, durability is a concern and that is something that has to be considered when deciding how many snaps Hunter should play.

As a wide receiver, Hunter is an impressive playmaker that can hurt defenses downfield. Hunter is quick, sudden, and athletic as Hunter runs well enough that he can stretch defenses vertically. He runs good routes and shows a real knack for generating late separation from cornerbacks. Hunter is superb on 50-50 passes and winning contested catches even though he does not have mismatch height for a wideout. With serious athleticism, Hunter has excellent adjustment ability to contort his body and redirect to put him in position to make the reception. After the catch, Hunter is dangerous with the ball in his hands and is capable of juking tacklers, breaking tackles, and ripping up yards through the secondary.

Hunter’s ball skills are outstanding, and his ball skills are incredible at either position. His ability to snatch receptions as a receiver or interceptions as a cornerback is phenomenal. Hunter’s hands are extremely strong when he gets a grip on the ball, and he has soft hands to avoid drops. He is fantastic at high-pointing the ball, and if there is a 50-50 play with a corner or receiver, you can safely assume that Hunter will win the play. The sure-handness makes him a real red zone weapon on offense, and a dangerous cornerback to throw against. Along with snatching interceptions, Hunter is very skilled at slapping passes away from wide receivers.

As a cornerback, Hunter is extremely instinctive and versatile. Hunter’s instincts and vision make him a dynamite zone corner, and he is capable of playing off man coverage. He tricks quarterbacks, reads their eyes, has fabulous route recognition, and a serious closing burst to eat up ground. Hunter has enough size and physicality to play press man and is a willing tackler in run support. One area of weakness as a corner for Hunter is handling deep-speed receivers. Hunter has some problems with deep speed, so he might need some help and scheme protection when handling fast pro wideouts.

Not all team sources agree on Hunter’s position for the NFL. Some evaluators think he is best as a receiver, and others feel he is better at corner. Overall, it sounds like the larger consensus is that Hunter should be a full-time cornerback and has a package for the offense as a receiver. Hunter is an elite player and rare prospect that looks like a high first-round talent in any draft class.