Travis Hunter's Potential Rising Star Power in 2025

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00:00I think one player who is going to enter the conversation in terms of star power is Travis Hunter.

00:06I'm not saying he's been an offensive player of the year.

00:08I don't know if Travis is going to win any awards this year.

00:11I believe that when we list out the 10 biggest headlines of this NFL season,

00:18Travis Hunter is inside that top 10.

00:21He's a show leader, if you would, right, Donnie?

00:23The week that he does catch a touchdown and maybe a pick six,

00:28if that does happen, like that is something that you just have to talk about with Travis Hunter,

00:34having top three odds in both offensive rookie of the year and defensive rookie of the year.

00:39But there's another piece that we haven't been able to revisit really since the draft,

00:43the three of us together, and it's what will Travis Hunter's role be in Jacksonville?

00:51And they made it kind of clear, I feel, from the moment they drafted him and still being the case.

00:57Because it is to play wide receiver.

00:59They, I feel as if, he's talented enough, he can go out there and cover anybody.

01:04Like, it was the reverse idea of Colorado, Joe, right?

01:07All DB room, he'll find a way to get open.

01:11Jacksonville traded up and made this move for the playmaker that is Travis Hunter.

01:18I'm not saying he's going to be their number one wide receiver because of what I,

01:20because Brian Thomas is so incredible.

01:22But I think they are looking, you know, Travis Hunter has an over-under of 750 and a half.

01:27I think they want Travis on the thousand-yard trajectory this coming season.

01:30Yes, absolutely.

01:31And let's think about the offense in Tampa Bay last year with Liam Cohen, right?

01:35You have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

01:37You have a pure number one, and you have Godwin that did all the dirty work underneath on dig routes.

01:42And when they double-teamed Mike Evans, right, got open.

01:46It's unfortunate he got hurt.

01:47But that was his role in the offense.

01:50The role for Travis Hunter is simple.

01:52Take double teams away from Brian Thomas and work the middle and be that route runner to do the dirty work in year number one.

02:00You specifically got him because he's a unique athletic talent offensively and defensively.

02:06And I believe he's going to hit the ground running just the way he did in Colorado.

02:09He's going to step up.

02:11He's going to make plays.

02:12He catches the football at its highest point, has great hands.

02:16He's still a little raw in terms of the route running.

02:19But I still believe he is going to be 750, 800.

02:23He's 750 in terms of receiving yards and five interceptions if you want to take that shot.

02:2817 to 1 right now on FanDuel.

02:31It's not a bad number.

02:32If you believe he's going to play on the defensive side of the ball, whether it be 15 or 20 plays,

02:38maybe they'll work him in slowly, nickel type of situations.

02:42He's going to eat.

02:43He's a ball hawk on both sides of the ball, Don.

02:45Yeah, I'm surprised the way it started.

02:47But, again, we're just going through, like, OTAs where you're trying to get him to learn the offensive playbook,

02:51and I get that.

02:51But I'm not getting too much information on Travis Hunter who's working out on defense and, like, locking down opponents right now.

02:57These expectations for me coming in, I thought you would thread the needle and be like, you know what?

03:00This guy's an absolute stud as a cornerback.

03:03They're so hard to find in the NFL.

03:05But yet he's a lead on offense where when we need him in packages and spurts to save him, he can be effective here.

03:11It looks like they're almost going the opposite where it's like, let me put you full-time wide receiver,

03:15and, oh, yeah, in the two-minute drill when we go to nickel, you'll be the nickel cornerback,

03:19which is kind of odd to me because you have Brian Thomas Jr., a bona fide number one,

03:23who I love the fact that Travis Hunter is going to help him get open just by being out on the field.

03:27But I really thought a better use or allocation would have been full-time cornerback,

03:32spurts him in on offense, when you're in passing, when you're down, he can be that guy

03:36because I thought that's the best use of the talent that he has.

03:39I think the thing, though, is, Donnie, if your options were the best receiver in the league

03:43or the best corner in the league, you'd take the best receiver in the league,

03:47and the offense is just more valuable.

03:50So they view who he can be as an offensive player as the priority of trading up for the player.

03:55And I've talked about the money piece of it for Travis.

04:01Now, maybe he'll end up getting paid as a both, and, all right, good luck figuring out what that number's going to be.

04:06But there's way more money in it for wide receivers and quarterbacks.

04:08There just is.

04:09Pat Sertan will never come close to that Jamar Chase number.

04:12It's just the reality of it.

04:13So it makes sense for Jacksonville on how do you get the most juice out of the guy,

04:19and it makes sense for Travis for how do you get the biggest payday.

04:23But is he really that guy that wide out, though?

04:24Like, because you come from Colorado, wheel and deal, and your best friend's the quarterback.

04:28It's bad defense.

04:29You're just a better athlete, and you stomp him where it's like, okay, like, you can be a legitimate cornerback.

04:33Because coming out of high school, like, Travis Hunter was a great player.

04:36Cornerback.

04:36Going to Jackson State.

04:38Cornerback.

04:38Oh, he's going to play a little bit more wide receiver at Colorado.

04:41But we knew he's an electric, one of the best cornerbacks.

04:43And now I'm about to use that as his primary position.

04:46That's where I get a little bit confused.

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