NFL coaches and scouts are divided over whether Hunter should play WR or CB. The Browns are in a position to find out.
The Cleveland Browns will select Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.
While the draft will not open until Thursday night, the idea of Hunter going to the Browns has grown into the consensus from almost every draft expert willing to offer an opinion on Cleveland’s options with the No. 2 overall selection.
If we accept that is what general manager Andrew Berry is planning, the discussion will quickly switch to how the Browns will utilize Hunter, who has made it known he is ready, willing, and able to be the NFL’s first full-time two-way player since Chuck Bednarik of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1960.
Is Hunter a wide receiver who can also play cornerback? Or a cornerback who can be on the field for some select plays on offense? Or can he truly play both positions for an entire game and do it at a high level?
It is an intriguing question, one that even NFL coaches and scouting directors are searching for answers to. In his latest column ($$), The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman interviewed two dozen coaches and scouts to answer this question about Hunter’s future.
The consensus seems to be that there is no consensus about Hunter’s best position.
One offensive coordinator is not sold on Hunter’s ability to adapt to the NFL game as a receiver:
“If he really wants to be a wide receiver, he’s got to commit to being a wide receiver. Watch (Colorado’s) pro day; he does all this stuff (on his routes) that doesn’t matter. All this extra stuff at the line of scrimmage. You’re not gonna have time to do all of that. His explosiveness and ball skills is what are so great about him. But walking up, man to man, Jalen Ramsey’s over you, what is he gonna do? He’s gonna have to grow up fast.”
One scouting director sees Hunter bringing more to the field as a cornerback:
“I think you’re doing him and the team a disservice if you’re not playing him at corner. He helps your roster because he can play both, but I think he’s more of a package player at receiver. At corner, he can get you 10 interceptions a season.”
But one wide receiver coach believes a team can teach Hunter what he needs to know to excel at wide receiver:
“He does a lot of things on tape that you can’t teach, and the stuff that he struggles with, you can teach him. Like some of the fundamentals, the things you do at the top of routes, and some of the details, like little route-technique stuff, stuff that when you’re playing 150 snaps a game, it’s hard to hone in on that kind of stuff. But from an instinct, play-making skill, and the mindset he has, I think he can be awesome at wide receiver.”
Another wide receiver coach believes Hunter may be more pro-ready as a wide receiver than some are giving him credit for:
“He’s raw, but not as raw as you would think for playing over 100 snaps in a game and doesn’t necessarily get all the coaching that you would get if you were on one side of the ball or another.”
So what should the Browns do with Hunter, if indeed he is the pick?
One scouting director advised going into the process with no predetermined expectations:
“I think you let him figure that out. You be open-minded to it. At Colorado, he didn’t practice much because he took so many reps. In the league, you’ve just got to let him know these are the practice demands.”
The Browns obviously are going to have a plan in place for Hunter if they draft him, and Berry has consistently said they see him as a wide receiver first. That could be in part because Cleveland needs more help at wide receiver than cornerback at the moment, but it will be surprising if they don’t utilize Hunter on both sides of the ball in some fashion during the season.
How do you think the team that drafts him should use Travis Hunter? Stick to one position or let him be a two-way player and see what happens? Have your say in the comments!