Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night in large part because he is one of the best two-way players college football has ever seen, but it sounds like most NFL teams want him to focus primarily on one position next season.
Jay Glazer of FOX Sports said on Sunday that he spoke with 13 different NFL head coaches and general managers to ask whether they view Hunter as a cornerback or wide receiver heading into the upcoming draft. All but one of them said they project Hunter as a defensive star.
The coaches and GMs did, however, say Hunter should get some opportunities at wide receiver.
“I asked exactly that question and it was overwhelming — cornerback,” Glazer said. “The one GM who said (he) would put him at wide receiver, the reason why? Elite ball skills. Everybody else said corner. Why? Elite ball skills. They said it’s just so hard to find a shutdown corner like that. However, they all said even though we’d start him at cornerback, we would definitely find plays for him on the offensive side of the ball.”
What position do NFL front offices see Heisman Winner Travis Hunter playing next season?@JayGlazer has the latest pic.twitter.com/eKCrruRNBL
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 15, 2024
The consensus seems to be that elite defensive backs are simply more difficult to find than top-tier wide receivers. Hunter has made some insane catches during his career at Colorado, but it is not a huge surprise that many NFL teams would value him more as a cornerback.
Hunter has 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns through 12 games this season. He also has 4 interceptions and 11 passes broken up on defense. If Hunter’s game translates well to the NFL, his next team probably can’t go wrong regardless of where they play him.
