Currently favored to be the number one overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, former Colorado Buffalo, Travis Hunter, is attempting to break the meta by playing both sides of the ball as a rookie.
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After Coach Prime famously told scouts, “Don’t draft him if you’re not going to give him an opportunity to play on both sides of the ball,” fans are now waiting to see exactly how big of an impact Hunter’s style of play could have on the game of football.
While some expect his debut performance to be game-breaking, others, such as former NFL MVP, Cam Newton, fail to believe that Hunter will have the same kind of impact as the rookies who came before him.
In fact, Newton advised that Hunter temper his expectations altogether before entering the league.
“You’re the top pick because that was the worst team in the NFL that year before… If I’m going to the worst team, our guys in the locker room are ready to win right now.”
In addition to emphasizing the status of the team making the pick, Newton cautioned Hunter, telling him that he simply won’t be able to impact the game in the same way as a quarterback.
“What Jayden Daniels did as the number two pick last year was not normal, C.J. Stroud, that’s not normal, and those are quarterbacks. You could potentially be the first pick but bro, you have no way of impacting the game like a quarterback does.”
The former Carolina Panther went further, asserting “You can lock down the number one receiver, you can make impact plays on offense all you want, but it’s still not like a quarterback.”
In Hunter’s defense, the gridiron’s history is littered with number one overall picks who made immediate improvements to their respective teams. However, should he be selected with the first overall pick, he will be the first receiver to have done so since Keyshawn Johnson was drafted by the New York Giants in 1996.
Should Hunter be selected as a DB instead, the pick would be the first of its kind since 1956. Hunter would then join Gary Glick as the only two DBs to ever be selected with the first overall pick in NFL history.
No matter the type of services that his future team may hope to derive from him, the former Buffalo is destined to make NFL Draft history should the Tennessee Titans call his name on draft night.
Regardless of the situation that he inherits, Hunter should have no trouble staying motivated despite being “…in a room full of mediocre players that’s just happy to be on the team,” as Newton suggested.
Known for his simplistic lifestyle, the 2024 Heisman winner should manage to stick to his routes even after joining the ranks of one of the NFL’s lesser franchises.
