Deion Sanders has masterfully tried to manipulate teams into giving Travis Hunter what he wants — the option to play both offense and defense in the NFL. While on analyst Rich Eisen’s show last year, Coach Prime said, “Don’t draft him if you’re not gonna give him an opportunity to play on both sides of the ball”. Sanders even leveraged Hunter’s fifth-year option to send a message to teams looking to draft the two-way star.
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“You gotta understand: Travis Hunter has another year of eligibility. So if you start the foolishness, he can do that,” Sanders had threatened NFL teams.
In the latest episode of his podcast, Eisen primarily agreed with Deion that it makes sense for the NFL team that drafts Hunter to make use of all his abilities. The analyst’s thoughts resonated with the football logic in Prime’s words.
“If you don’t play him both ways… and your offense is struggling, and you’re a head coach, and you’re best offensive weapon is standing next to you on the sideline, how’s that going to play? That resonates with me. He could not be more right about that,” Eisen said, before pushing back Sanders’ assertiveness in his own blunt manner.
When it came to Coach Prime’s threat that the WR would opt to go back to college, it was “more bark than bite”, felt the analyst.
“He’s [Hunter’s] not coming back to Colorado,” asserted Eisen.
It is clear that both Eisen and Sanders are pitching for teams to be open-minded and creative with how they could best use Hunter’s capabilities. Sanders had pointed out, “You’re gonna look like an idiot with your best receiver is sitting on the bench and you can’t get open”.
While Sanders’ threats may be toothless, he is right to have confidence in his player. Hunter is an athlete with potential, and media pundits such as Eisen recognize the hype surrounding the 21-year-old prospect.
Eisen thinks Travis could be the Shohei Ohtani of the NFL
Eisen sees no reason Hunter can’t be the NFL’s next big sensation.
“What a fascinating figure. This could be like the [Shohei] Ohtani of the NFL. I’m serious… If you think he can play both ways and be effective… how the hell is he not the number one overall draft choice?,” said Eisen.
Much like baseball star Shohei Ohtani — who’s become an MLB icon for his methodical approach to both pitching and hitting — Hunter has the raw talent that requires a little more polishing.
In the two years in which Hunter played with the Colorado Buffaloes, he managed to prove that he was more than capable of providing meaningful play on both sides of the ball. The Colorado two-way star played 688 snaps on defense and 672 on offense in the 2024 season, becoming the only FBS player to surpass 150 snaps on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, he tallied 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns, setting a new record for Colorado. Defensively, he allowed just 22 receptions, intercepted four passes, and broke up 11 more. With one interception every 10.3 targets, his performance makes him a top candidate in the 2025 NFL Draft.
However, the NFL is a much different beast. For instance, guarding New York Jets’ Garrett Wilson in a game is a tall task for anyone. But being tasked with getting open on Sauce Gardner in that same game would be impossible to ask of someone. But that doesn’t mean teams should not be open to trying it out.
The skill gap between college and the pros is huge. And Hunter won’t have the luxury of squaring up against PAC-12-level talent. While he does enjoy the benefit of having an NFL Hall of Famer as a mentor, it will be interesting to see what happens when the training wheels come off.
