One of the biggest storylines heading into the 2025 NFL draft is the future of reigning Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.
Hunter, of course, played cornerback and wide receiver during his collegiate days at Colorado, and he’s been vocal heading into the draft about wanting to play both positions in the NFL. But what exactly will that look like at the next level? Just like the rest of the football world, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh is intrigued to see how it’ll all play out.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how they do it, wherever he goes,” Harbaugh said Tuesday during a pre-draft press conference with the media. “But to say that you’re going to be completely immersed in everything that there is to know on offense and everything there is to know on defense—I don’t know if there’s enough hours in the day for a player to be able to do that and have every detail locked down.
“You certainly can do it, I would think, on one side of the ball and then have some sort of a package on the other side of the ball, which is my guess is how the team will do it wherever he goes.”
Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta seemed to agree with Harbaugh’s take.
“We would probably want to put him at one position,” DeCosta said. “Our discussions have really been if he shows up here Day 1, if we were ever fortunate enough to have a player like him … where is his best position going to be? … We would talk about his skills, but then [figure out] where he’s going to play most of his football from Day 1.”
Hunter isn’t shying away from his desire to play on both sides of the ball. During a recent interview with CBS Sports, Hunter went as far as to state he’d quit football if he couldn’t play both offense and defense.
Playing one position—especially cornerback or receiver—is demanding on the mind and body as it is. But both positions? Now that’s a challenge.
Hunter definitely has the talent and ability to play both positions. But Harbaugh is probably right—he’ll likely end up playing more at one position and rolled out in special packages at the other.
