Few NFL prospects have generated more hype in recent years than Travis Hunter.

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is expected to go off the board early in the 2025 NFL Draft due in large part to his unique profile as both a shutdown cornerback and dynamic wide receiver. 

Hunter stuffed the stat sheet on both sides of the ball this past season with Colorado — winning the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the top collegiate wide receiver after reeling in 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns.

He also took home the Chuck Bednarik Award as the top defensive player in college football after recording 35 tackles, four interceptions and defending 11 passes with the Buffaloes. 

While it remains to be seen if Hunter can handle the workload of being both a starting corner and featured receiver at the NFL level, he isn’t lacking in confidence entering April’s NFL Draft.

“I’m going to play both,” Hunter told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday of playing both offense and defense. “That’s not my job to figure it out. I like to play both sides of the ball. If [teams] give me the opportunity to play both sides of the ball, I’m going to play both sides of the ball.

“Nobody has done it, but I feel like I’ve put my body through a lot. I do a lot of treatment; people don’t get to see that part, what I do for my body to make sure I’m 100 percent each game. But I feel I can do it because nobody has done it. And I know I can do it.”

While Hunter is trying to become both a full-time starter at both CB/WR, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was quick to note on Thursday that Hunter is not in a class by himself when it comes to making an impact on both offense and defense.

“We were kind of jawing back and forth as he left last night,” Vrabel said on NFL Network Thursday of his conversations with Hunter at the Combine. “And I said, ‘You’re not the only one that played two-way. There were some other guys that did this, too.’ And he kind of looked at me — and he laughed. “ 

While Vrabel is best known as one of the stout linebackers on a Patriots defense that won three Super Bowls in four seasons, he was also a dangerous red-zone threat during his extended tenure in Foxborough. 

Over Vrabel’s eight seasons in New England, he recorded 10 receptions — all of which resulted in touchdowns. Vrabel reeled in a pair of touchdowns during New England’s victories in Super Bowl XXXVIII and Super Bowl XXXIX against the Panthers and Eagles, respectively. 

Beyond Vrabel’s joke, his comments did confirm that New England did hold a meeting with Hunter during the Scouting Combine. Hunter declined to comment on Thursday about which teams he has already met with leading up to the draft. 

Given Hunter’s ceiling as both a shutdown corner and dynamic wideout, the blue-chip prospect may not even be on the draft board by the time New England lands on the clock with the No. 4 pick. 

But speaking on the “Next Pats Podcast” Wednesday, NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry noted that Hunter could fall to New England — especially if the two teams in front of the Patriots in the Browns and Giants opt for quarterbacks. 

“There are a number of different evaluators here who feel as though there is a very real chance that Travis Hunter makes it all the way to the Patriots at pick No. 4, their thinking being there is a real chance that the NFL likes Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders enough — the Browns and the Giants specifically would like those two quarterbacks enough — to take them inside the top three,” Perry said.

“If Abdul Carter goes No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans, then ipso facto, you get the Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter falling to the New England Patriots. … People believe there is a very real chance that (Hunter) could make it to the New England Patriots.”

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.

Sign up for Patriots updates🏈

Get breaking news and analysis delivered to your inbox during football season.