Travis Hunter will focus on playing just one position in the NFL, former Super Bowl champion predicts

NFL imaginable Travis Hunter is projected to play some wide receiver and cornerback successful the pros, arsenic helium did successful college. But immoderate experts person questioned the validity of a subordinate excelling astatine some positions astatine the pro level. 

A subordinate who came adjacent to Hunter's aspirations successful the NFL is his erstwhile University of Colorado and Jackson State caput manager Deion Sanders. Sanders was known astir wholly arsenic an elite cornerback during his pro career, but besides played wide receiver astatine uncommon times, mostly during the Dallas Cowboys' 1996 season. 

Now, erstwhile NFL wide receiver and three-time Super Bowl champion Ed McCaffrey thinks Hunter should travel a akin blueprint to Sanders. McAffrey believes Hunter is much invaluable arsenic a cornerback, and doesn't expect Hunter to play each down connected discourtesy and defence successful the pros, which Hunter often did successful college. 

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Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter takes portion successful passing drills during the team's NFL shot pro time connected April 4, 2025, successful Boulder. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

"Personally… I deliberation close present helium provides greater worth astatine the cornerback position, I bash not spot immoderate script wherever helium doesn't permission the tract successful the NFL, I don't deliberation that's possible. Maybe for a crippled oregon erstwhile successful a portion you could play a important fig of snaps successful the NFL, but long-term, I don't deliberation you tin clasp up," McCaffrey said. 

"It's antithetic successful assemblage erstwhile you're importantly amended and much physically talented than the guys you're going up against. When you get to the NFL, determination isn't arsenic overmuch of a spread successful talent." 

McCaffrey besides didn't regularisation retired the anticipation of Hunter focusing connected wide receiver either, but suggested Hunter's mechanics are much refined arsenic a cornerback, currently. 

"Could helium play receiver? Absolutely, he's diversion capable to bash it. I deliberation helium would request to enactment much connected his way moving and his accomplishment acceptable offensively than helium would defensively," McCaffrey said. 

"I deliberation astir teams that are looking to draught him privation him to beryllium that shut-down, lockdown near country who tin instrumentality the champion receiver retired of the game." 

McCaffrey said this arsenic idiosyncratic who believes a shot player's work is to play whichever presumption the manager chooses. 

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As the begetter to 4 existent and erstwhile shot players, including San Francisco 49ers prima moving backmost Christian McCaffrey and Washington Commanders wide receiver Luke McCaffrey, and erstwhile players Max and Dylan McCaffrey, Ed has seen and helped facilitate plentifulness of full-time presumption changes. 

"Max played DB inferior twelvemonth and moved to receiver elder year. Luke played cornerback arsenic a sophomore, was a backmost by the clip helium was a senior, present he's a receiver. Christian played connected some sides of the ball," McCaffrey said. 

"So I perfectly emotion what Travis Hunter has done successful college. Travis Hunter is simply a shot player." 

Hunter himself has rejected the thought of lone playing 1 presumption successful the NFL. 

The forthcoming rookie said helium would "never play shot again" if helium was told by coaches to lone absorption connected playing either cornerback oregon wide receiver. 

"It's ne'er playing shot again," Hunter told CBS Sports past week. "Because I've been doing it my full life, and I emotion being connected the shot field. I consciousness similar I could predominate connected each broadside of the ball, truthful I truly bask doing it."

Last season, Hunter played 713 snaps connected discourtesy and 748 snaps connected defence and was inactive incredibly productive contempt the tremendous magnitude of snaps.

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He had 96 catches for 1,258 yards with 15 touchdowns arsenic a wide receiver, portion helium had 35 tackles with 4 interceptions, 11 passes defended, and 1 forced fumble arsenic a cornerback.

Meanwhile, the squad that is presently the odds-on favourite to onshore Hunter, the Cleveland Browns, person suggested they privation Hunter to absorption connected playing wide receiver. 

"In presumption of Travis Hunter, cornerback oregon receiver, the reply is 'yes.' He tin play both, and I deliberation that's what makes him special. But we would spot him arsenic a receiver chiefly first," said Browns wide manager Andrew Berry astatine the NFL Combine successful February. 

"But I deliberation what makes him a spot of a unicorn is that helium tin bash some astatine a precocious level."

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