Scouting Overview

There are top prospects and then there’s that.

Travis Hunter is a rarity as a legitimate two-way option for the NFL. Performance-wise, I strongly believe his best prospect is on the defensive side of the football. However, each franchise will have different criteria for traits at each position, and they may see a split between NFL franchises in terms of where to deploy Hunter. The underlying commonality is that this is a player who has elite skills to deliver to every team – it’s just a matter of where.

Hunter is a rare engine in space; His foot speed, hip fluidity and body control allow him to demonstrate elite change-of-direction skills both with the ball in his hands as a receiver and playing outside the corner in coverage. The center of gravity is always under control, allowing the Hunter to move with the greatest efficiency when he has the correct angles. There’s short-yardage burst, quickness and lower-body burst to go along with the agility, making him a dynamic athlete in all phases.

At cornerback, it’s easy to be dazzled by his wide field of vision and anticipation to attack targets in the area. The ability to use multiple routes is enhanced by his dynamic transition quickness, which allows him to squeeze multiple layers of throws into one rep and get to balls that almost any other player wouldn’t.

Hunter is an elite defender in zone coverage and has shown growth in his man coverage ability in 2024. The ability to play press-dominated coverage won’t be helped by overwhelming strength and power, but Hunter has fluid hips and enough length to discourage clean launches. at a high level in the NFL. He must guard against excess in the contact window, but can retain confidence in his recovery speed if challenged vertically and stacked early in the rep.

Positioning is where Hunter has the most room to gain ground at the position and become a more impactful player with consistency. He is physically limitless in off-man, zone match, press, true country zone and everything in between prospects. Still, Hunter’s positioning, footwork and hand placement should be considered easy fixes if he invests his time on that side of the ball.

If Hunter is tasked with playing wide receiver, his early impact should come with the ball in his hands. He’s “blink and you’ll miss it” quick with cuts and can slip through traffic to get into open space.

Hunter is adept with his eyes and hips at the catch point to set up defenders for a missed tackle challenge and to create space and run. He has developed excellent chemistry with QB Shedeur Sanders, who can unlock Hunter’s body control with back shoulder throws and peak opportunities against man coverage in the scramble drill.

As with cornerback, the growth is greatest at the line of scrimmage, where Hunter could continue to build his deck against different looks and coverages to set himself up for more success at the top of routes and help him cultivate better separation in a moment. based on snap.

The ideal fit of the scheme, role

Choice of dealer. Hunter has the instincts to play on either side of the ball or even both. I think his ceiling as a player is higher at cornerback, where length, ball skills, catching ability, fluidity, instincts and quickness in short areas combine for a truly generational type of talent.

Note: 90.50/100.00, Top 10 overall rating

Big Board Ranking: TBD

Position Rank: TBD