Travis Hunter's greatest path to NFL stardom: Beating press on the line, YAC expertise, and insane spatial consciousness

Everyone knows Colorado’s Travis Hunter is awfully proficient, however nobody is sort of positive what his greatest place will likely be as knowledgeable after he is chosen within the 2025 NFL Draft. 

I watched Hunter carefully in 2023 and might’t say I’ve any concept whether or not he’d be higher off at large receiver or cornerback on the subsequent degree. As an alternative of creating a concrete assertion both means proper now, which might be ridiculous, I will let Hunter’s 2024 movie level me in the correct path. 

That is the second replace to this piece. I wrote a detailed breakdown of what I noticed in Colorado’s opening-season win towards North Dakota State after that sport. 

When it feels essential, I am going to verify again with pertinent observational updates giving a peek behind the scouting curtain, outlining what I search for and what I’ve seen from Hunter as a cornerback and receiver all year long earlier than making a ultimate determination on his greatest path to NFL stardom. Hope you comply with alongside! 

Now let’s get to my ideas after Hunter’s super begin to his 2024 marketing campaign at Colorado.

Cornerback 

Now 4 video games into the 2024 season, Hunter has had 14 throws made into his goal space and allowed 11 receptions for a minuscule 75 yards with one interception and one cross breakup. That superior stat line is borderline unfathomable. 

Past that protection stinginess, which features a mere 37 yards after the catch surrendered, Hunter has been a power as a tackler. He is but to overlook one and has 10 stops — that are tackles that represent a “loss” for the offense based mostly on down and distance. That determine is tied for many amongst all cornerbacks within the nation.

Examine these two tackles for loss towards Nebraska and Baylor, respectively. Each start with demonstrations of Hunter’s high-IQ play recognition and finish with how he faucets into his supreme athletic items as a tackler. 

After all groups need high quality tacklers in any respect positions, however it seems like coaches perceive their cornerbacks aren’t essentially going to be as adept at bringing ball-carriers to the turf as their linebacker or line of defense counterparts. What Hunter lacks in girth and dimension and pure tackling quantity, he greater than makes up for with a speedy, heat-seeking model as a tackler in area. And making these affect performs on screens is significant at present given the propensity of these performs within the NFL. 

Now let’s get to Hunter’s protection chops. It is practically inconceivable to discover a rep on movie during which he is clearly overwhelmed because of the athletic items of the receiver or the scheme, until Colorado’s in zone, when the duty is blurred assigning “blame” for receptions allowed. 

Hunter has largely caught like glue to wideouts, each beneath and down the sphere. 

These are textbook protection snaps that includes disruptions on the catch level on two utterly totally different routes, one from the slot, one from the boundary. Whereas Hunter does not look notably lengthy nor overly tall, enjoying on the perimeter at present is way much less about pure dimension and size and extra about tenacity on the catch level, and Hunter actually brings that each probability he can get. 

After a formidable 2023 in protection, Hunter has taken his sport to a different degree on the cornerback place, no matter pre-snap alignment or matchup. The movie has been borderline sensational, and the traits soar off the display screen on protection every sport. 

Extensive receiver 

Hunter has the sixth-most receiving yards within the nation — 472 — with 37 receptions, which is the fourth-most catches amongst all wideouts on the FBS degree. And solely three cross catchers have greater than his 5 receiving touchdowns. 

Hunter has clearly established himself as Colorado’s No. 1 receiver and, regardless of added consideration from opposing defenses, his manufacturing has been regular within the season’s first month of motion. 

Draft evaluations aren’t at all times about pure manufacturing. However Hunter hasn’t merely been schemed large open on this incendiary begin. Watch the veteran-esque endurance and nasty crossover on this launch from press protection within the tight pink zone towards Colorado State that supplied Shedeur Sanders with a candidate for best landing of the season. 

However the basis of succeeding within the NFL at receiver is not as a lot about destroying press-man protection because it was not too way back. There is a case to be made that yards-after-the-catch talent is now one of many prime priorities on the place. 

And Hunter has flashed loads of YAC expertise. He has compelled seven missed tackles on his 37 catches thus far. Listed below are some high-quality examples of how nifty Hunter is with the ball in his palms due to his flexibility and sheer explosiveness. 

Probably the most placing commentary I made whereas watching the previous three video games of Hunter’s brilliance was how next-level his spatial consciousness is, and the way it’s married to his footwork and physique management. He is proven examples of how quickly he processes defenders in visitors and might navigate round them whereas keep his velocity. 

It is just like the play is going on a half-speed for his thoughts. There was even a catch towards Baylor during which Hunter seems again at Sanders, sees him throwing the lengthy ball, so he places his head down to achieve extra velocity, then tracks the ball and makes a difficult catch in visitors. 

These three snags are as savvy as I’ve seen from many NFL receivers. Severely. On these shallow crosses, many professionals would run into one of many defenders. The diving seize most likely was a route improvisation by Hunter, and it demonstrated how his spatial consciousness — and understanding of your complete route idea on the play — can result in him shortly finding open area and getting there in a flash. 

Conclusion (after first month of the season)

This has grow to be a lot more durable than I initially anticipated. Hunter has been that good at cornerback and receiver. Nevertheless, I nonetheless consider Hunter seems to be extra dynamic and refined at receiver, and this magnificent spatial consciousness offers him extra benefits on offense.