Colorado Buffaloes cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter will have to answer many questions once he’s drafted about what position he’ll play in the NFL. But before that, he’ll have to wait and see where he’s drafted.
He’s confident he’ll go number one, where the Tennessee Titans hold the pick. According to Hunter, he’s already looked at houses in the Tennessee area.
Heisman Trophy Winner Travis Hunter Believes He’s Poised to Go No. 1 Overall in 2025 NFL Draft
Travis Hunter is a confident player on the field. He has to be to do half of the things he does — on both sides of the ball.
The way he contorts his body and elevates for jump-balls. The ball-hawking ability to break up passes and, when the opportunity is presented, take the ball away from the other team. All of those are skills — but they wouldn’t be possible without the belief Hunter has that he can make those incredible plays.
He’s also confident off the field.
While talking on a podcast, Hunter claimed that “every time the No. 1 pick changed, my Zillow research changed.”
And why shouldn’t he be confident in that? He won the Heisman Trophy and was awarded the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s most outstanding receiver, while also receiving the Bednarik Award for being the the nation’s best defensive player.
His stats in 2024 tell the entire story. He finished fourth in the nation in receiving yards (1,258) and catches (96) while reeling in the second most receiving touchdowns (15). He did all that while logging an entire load of defensive snaps, in which he recorded 35 tackles, 11 passes deflected, four interceptions and one goal-line forced fumble.
He’s a playmaker on the both sides of the ball — the only question is how the team that drafts Hunter deploy him. Will he be a full-time receiver? Full-time cornerback? A mix of both? Could he possibly be full-time on both sides of the ball, something that’s never been done before?
The Tennessee Titans hold all the cards, as they’re in possession of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. While Hunter has been rated as the best player in the draft by many accomplished draft analysts, the Titans present a problem to his case as the No. 1 pick: they’re in need of a franchise quarterback.
Tennessee drafted former Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Will Levis in the second round of the 2023 draft, but he’s failed to show much potential. With the top pick, the Titans are expected to select one of two top quarterbacks: Miami Hurricanes’ Cam Ward and Hunter’s teammate, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.
The first three teams to select in the NFL Draft are all arguably in need of a quarterback; the Cleveland Browns, who hold the second pick, will be without starter Deshaun Watson for potentially the entire 2025 season due to another ruptured Achilles’ tendon, while the New York Giants sit in the three spot and only have third-stringer Tommy DeVito under contract.
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It’s more likely Hunter ends up in the four-to-five range, where the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars each have starters in place at the quarterback position — unless a team trades up into the top three to snag the ultra-talented two-way playmaker.
Or, the Titans decide to go with the best player available approach. They’d likely target a veteran quarterback through free agency and, with the aforementioned strategy, Hunter would be a more than viable selection, validating his feelings as the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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