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Shedeur Sanders could be a key domino early in the 2025 NFL Draft, with some teams already anticipating the Colorado quarterback will be one of the first players off the board. Yet his college teammate Travis Hunter is just as likely to shake up the top of the draft, coming off a Heisman-winning campaign as a two-way player. But where, exactly, does Hunter project best in the NFL: wide receiver or cornerback?
Former Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon offered some insight on CBS Sports' "With the First Pick" podcast after scouting the Colorado star.
"Personally, I think it starts on defense," Carthon said of Hunter. "I think he's plug-and-play Day 1, he's your starting corner. His unique trait, his superpower, is ball skills, being able to attack the ball. [And] me personally, if I were calling it, it's defense first, it's punt return to allow him to have the ball in his hands, and then [you] allow him to earn packages on offense.
"Now this is the National Football League," Carthon continued. "It's hard enough to master one position in this league, let alone have to master two. ... Travis' athleticism alone will allow him to do whatever he wants to do on the field. However, you're going against grown men ... [with] tricks of the trade."
Some NFL teams "see him strictly as a receiver," Carthon noted, with the idea of starting Hunter on offense, then allowing him to ease his way into defensive snaps as a nickel cornerback. Just as many seem to share Carthon's opinion: that Hunter is best-geared for an immediate defensive role. Either way, the Colorado product is "the biggest enigma this league has ever seen," Carthon argued, offering Pro Football Hall of Fame cover men Champ Bailey and Charles Woodson as rare two-way comparisons.
The New England Patriots are one team that could maximize the prospect's two-way abilities, Carthon suggested. The club's "Patriot Way" philosophy has often prioritized versatility, he explained, and in New England, with Carlton Davis joining Christian Gonzalez at corner this offseason, Hunter could potentially serve as the Patriots' Opening Day slot corner, while also holding the No. 1 receiver job.
