Right now, the Carolina Panthers are focused on keeping their winning streak alive against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs here in Week 12. But as we know, the grind and the vision are never limited to just the present.
As of this weekend, the team currently sits in the eighth overall position of the 2025 NFL draft order—a spot that could yield a pillar for this rebuilding franchise. So as we begin our Carolina-centric scouting reports for the upcoming class, why not start with the very best player in college football?
University of Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter is one of the rarest talents in the sport. He’s one of the few players in the country who plays offense and defense, but the only one that has played both sides at an elite level.
Hunter is at the top of the charts in the Heisman Trophy race, and rightfully so—getting the job done all the way around. Through 10 games, the former consensus five-star recruit has 74 catches for 911 yards and nine touchdowns along with three interceptions and eight passes defended.
Panthers Wire takes a deeper dive into the All-22 to showcase the type of talent Hunter is, at both wideout and corner, and what his future role could be should the team have an opportunity to draft him in April.
Travis Hunter: The Cornerback
His ball skills as cornerback stand out. They’re exceptional and rare, with great tracking ability and the knowhow to high-point and play through contact.
Hunter is an outstanding zone corner with uncanny awareness and football intelligence. Those traits allow him to bait quarterbacks and anticipate throws against different route combinations and pass off or carry routes.
In man coverage, Hunter uses his short-area quickness, twitch and athletic ability. He shows flashes of sound technique in press-man and always plays feet-first—which proves to be effective in his backpedal and his stickiness with the receiver.
Hunter must improve his general positioning as a man corner, especially around the line of scrimmage. There have been times when he gets stacked early in his rep. But sometimes, it doesn’t matter due to his incredible recovery speed and effort to attack the ball at the catch point.
I was thoroughly impressed with Hunter’s skill set as a run defender, particularly in support. He’ll use his explosiveness to click and close on ball carriers or play through contact, breach blockers and be a force defender on the perimeter.
When his technique is sound, he’s a steady tackler in space. However, due to a lack of adequate play strength, this is another area he could improve in with overall consistency.
Excellent transition from cover defender to run support. Incredible instincts. See ball carrier, get ball carrier. pic.twitter.com/w8YvxLmfSW
— Jared Feinberg (@JRodNFLDraft) November 20, 2024
Travis Hunter: The Wide Receiver
At receiver, Hunter is an explosive athlete who plays as such in almost everything he does at the position. He attacks the football with reckless abandonment, frequently succeeding at the catch point more times than not.
He will frequently win contested catch situations with his absurd tracking ability while displaying the body control and instincts that allow him to guide himself to the ball.
Hunter is a threat in the open field. He’ll showcase his ability to stick his foot in the ground and take off, eliminating tackle angles in the process or making defenders miss in space with his quickness, twitch and creativity as a runner.
Travis Hunter, playing both ways, is a unique mover in the open field. At receiver, the body control, short-area quickness, and acceleration allow him to generate big plays after the catch. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/wuk8BkKaxq
— Jared Feinberg (@JRodNFLDraft) November 15, 2024
While his route tree is limited at the moment, Hunter has the tools to be effective in running the full arsenal. He has excellent efficiency in his breaks and the hip sinkage to shake defenders at the top of the route.
Hunter will offer great subtle movements and jab steps to create separation early in his reps. He also flashes the football IQ to read and sit against open grass in zone coverage.
A trend with Hunter is that most of his issues on both sides of the ball are around the line of scrimmage. He must be more disciplined with his releases while needing to add more power to his frame to be more effective in the contact window.
Travis Hunter: The Carolina Panther?
Most of Hunter’s flaws are just part of the process. Improving his consistency on both sides of the ball around the line of scrimmage would make him an even better player than he already is.
Now, the biggest question most fans have is where he’ll play at the next level and where his ceiling is higher. This is uncharted territory, and we’ve never seen a prospect like this. A player of Hunter’s caliber offers a ridiculous amount of stamina to play as well as he does.
Hunter bestows the second-highest film grade I’ve ever given a cornerback prospect behind former Ohio State standout Jeff Okudah. He is also likely to be one of my three best receiver prospects in this year’s draft.
The concern around Hunter playing both sides of the ball is how his future NFL home will deploy him. There are many possibilities along with having the durability to play both of his positions at that level.
If he is available for the Panthers, Hunter is a playmaker no matter where you put him. I would argue that he should get a shot at playing both spots full-time to see if he can handle the workload.
At receiver, the team gets its explosive playmaker to match with the young core of Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker. If he plays cornerback, he and Jaycee Horn could be the best outside duo in football very quickly.
Hunter is a legitimately rare talent who could be a Shohei Ohtani-like player in the NFL. Wherever he’s drafted, Carolina or elsewhere, that team is getting a player who will make them better on either side of the ball right away.
