Travis
Hunter.
Travis
Hunter.
Colorado· 6'0"· 188 lb
"A genuine two-way starter whose press-man patience and catch-point timing recall Charles Woodson's Michigan season, sold to NFL rooms as a shutdown boundary corner first and a high-volume slot receiver second."Pre-draft read
Hunter plays outside in press and off coverage. He shifts to the offensive formation without changing his gear, demonstrating soft knees, no false step, and hips that open late enough to stay in phase on double moves. He locates the deep ball over his outside shoulder as naturally on defense as he does as a receiver. His hands are quiet and accurate in press, feet remain under him through the transition, and his eye discipline in zone allows him to drive on the quarterback's shoulder instead of guessing. In run support, he uses angles and wraps.
As a receiver, he threatens all three levels with sudden breaks and a wide catch radius. His technique remains at a high quality across a large volume of scrimmage snaps. He demonstrates consistent play on both sides of the ball.
The Jacksonville Jaguars run a Cover-3 match scheme with man principles, leveraging long, fast boundary corners and zone safeties.
Hunter has the potential to be a Year 1 starter at boundary cornerback, with a ceiling as an All-Pro who can shadow elite receivers across the formation.
Hunter's value would collapse in a pure zone-heavy scheme like a Tampa 2, where his innate mirroring ability and ball skills would be underutilized.
Hunter's unprecedented two-way college workload and unverified athleticism make him a high-reward, high-risk pick for a team willing to manage his snap count.
Travis Hunter Heisman Highlights — Top Plays of the 2024 Season
Season-long cut of the two-way snaps that won the Heisman, with press reps and contested catches side by side.
Travis Hunter CB Film Breakdown
Coverage-only study of his press technique, transition footwork and eye discipline in zone.
Travis Hunter Heisman Year Highlights 2024
Broadcast angles of the Colorado season, including the Baylor goal-line forced fumble.
Hunter entered the 2025 evaluation as a five-star recruit who experienced a unique collegiate journey, signing with an FCS program before playing extensively on both offense and defense at Colorado. Teams regarded him as a top-three corner on tape, with some noting his potential as a receiver. The primary question involved how his two-way workload would translate to the NFL, as no existing model accounted for such deployment.
His production was significant on both sides of the ball. In 2024, he recorded 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns, alongside four interceptions and 11 pass breakups. He became the only player to win both the Bednarik and Biletnikoff awards in the same year, despite the unprecedented workload. This level of activity and quality of play in two roles presented a unique evaluation challenge.
Evaluators recognized his talent, but concerns arose from his slender frame and lack of a verified athletic profile, as he declined all combine drills. The unprecedented snap count also raised questions about workload management in the NFL. Despite these flags, Jacksonville traded up from the fifth pick to select him second overall, committing to his two-way potential.
- 01
Press-man mirror
Patient off the line with quick hips, he stays hip-to-hip through the stem and rarely surrenders separation on in-breakers.
- 02
Ball skills at the catch point
He plays the football like the intended receiver, timing his turn late and high-pointing throws.
- 03
Two-way stamina
He logged nearly 1,400 scrimmage snaps in 2024, maintaining technique in fourth quarters on both sides.
- 04
Route craft as a receiver
Sudden acceleration out of breaks, believable stem tempo, and a knack for stacking corners on vertical releases.
- 05
Hands and body control
Adjusts late to off-target throws, catches away from his frame, and finished 2024 with 15 receiving scores.
- 01
Slender frame
Listed at 188 pounds with a 31-inch arm, he can be stacked by heavier X receivers and moved off spots by tight ends.
- 02
Run-support power
Willing but uses angles and ankle wraps instead of striking, allowing bigger backs to break through his attempts.
- 03
No timed athletic profile
He declined all testing at the combine and held no pro day, leaving no verified speed or explosion numbers.
- 04
Workload risk
His college value came from an unprecedented snap count, and no NFL staff had a template for protecting a two-way player.
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Jackson State | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Colorado | 9 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 2024 | Colorado | 13 | 35 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
| Career | — | 30 | 66 | 0 | 9 | 16 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Honors
- 2024 Heisman Trophy
- 2024 Chuck Bednarik Award
- 2024 Fred Biletnikoff Award
- 2024 Walter Camp Player of the Year
- 2024 AP College Football Player of the Year
- 2024 Lott IMPACT Trophy
- 2024 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year
- 2024 unanimous All-American; 2023 consensus All-American
- 2023 and 2024 Paul Hornung Award
- No. 12 retired by Colorado (2025)
A long-levered press corner who erases a side of the field, with a designed package of offensive touches layered on top.
The only honest historical template: a corner with true offensive value, elite ball production and a decade of Pro Bowl coverage snaps.
A steady, smart starting corner whose two-way role gets shelved early to protect availability, leaving a good-not-special coverage piece.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
The two-way question dominated every conversation about Hunter, and it obscured how clean the corner tape actually was. Strip away the Heisman noise and the novelty, and what remained was a boundary defender who could travel with a number one receiver, play press without grabbing, and finish at the catch point. Colorado asked him to do both jobs at a volume no NFL staff would replicate, and he still improved his footwork between 2023 and 2024. He owned 19.4 percent of the offense's passing usage in his Heisman year, a share reserved for true alpha receivers, while the secondary he anchored produced a 7.5 percent defensive back havoc rate. His decision to skip all combine testing was polarizing, but nobody watching the Stanford or Baylor tape needed a stopwatch to believe in the burst. The knocks were narrow and honest: a slim build, a light tackling profile, and occasional loafs in pursuit that coaches flagged in film sessions.
Jacksonville paid a steep price to move up from fifth and take him, then leaned into the experiment rather than picking a side. Through seven games as a rookie he handled a full receiver package and a rotational defensive role, catching 28 balls for 298 yards with his first NFL touchdown coming on a 34-yard strike at Wembley, plus 15 tackles and three breakups on defense. A torn lateral collateral ligament in his right knee, suffered in practice at the end of October, ended the year and cut short the only real evidence anybody had. That leaves the verdict open. The flashes were consistent with the projection: he separated against NFL press, he tackled adequately, and the snap load never looked like the limiting factor. What nobody knows yet is whether a body built at 188 pounds can absorb two positions across a full professional season, or whether Jacksonville eventually narrows his role to protect the investment. The talent was never in doubt. The durability of the premise still is.