Previewing Travis Hunter’s NFL Draft Landing Spots

Fall is typically 2024 Heisman winner Travis Hunter’s busy season — playing 100+ snaps a game each weekend and what not — but his 2025 Spring has been eventful, too.

This past weekend (April 19), Hunter was immortalized in Boulder, Colo., as his Buffaloes football program retired the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner’s No. 12 jersey. He was joined in the jersey retirement ceremony by teammate, fellow Heisman top 10 finisher and future NFL-er Shedeur Sanders (and his No. 2 jersey) during the Buffs’ Spring Game on Saturday (April 19).

And now, Hunter is just two days from learning where he’ll begin his NFL career when the NFL Draft first round kicks off Thursday (April 24) in Green Bay, Wisc.

Hunter’s jersey retirement ceremony at the Buffs’ Folsom Field took place ahead of Colorado’s annual spring game, where the newly minted Heisman fraternity member starred for two seasons and became the program’s second Heisman, joining Rashaan Salaam.

Soon enough, Hunter will be donning a new jersey when he hears his name called before taking the stage at the NFL Draft.

Exactly which team’s logo Hunter will be sporting remains an open question, although with just a handful of answers possible.

Hunter won’t be on the draft board for long and will likely be taken within the first three or four picks. Here are some thoughts from draft experts on where Hunter may end up.

CBSSports’ Pete Prisco predicts Hunter will go No. 1 overall, saying “He’s the best player in the draft, so don’t overthink it. The Titans can play with Will Levis or somebody else and get their quarterback next year. Hunter is too good.”

Most outlets see Hunter going second overall to the Cleveland Browns, including The Athletic, which had this to say about the Browns’ likely choice: “There’s a lot to like. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said the explosive Hunter might have the best ball skills of any player he’s ever evaluated. The Browns have been in a four-year offensive spiral and have needs across the board. If Berry truly believes Hunter is a “unicorn” and comparable to baseball star Shohei Ohtani, the Browns can line him up at wide receiver and let him dabble as a cornerback, jet-sweep runner and all-around weapon. In an ongoing remake of multiple areas of the organization, Hunter will be tasked to eventually help in a bunch of them.”

Writers at NFL.com, USA Today, Yahoo Sports and ESPN — including draft guru Mel Kiper, have also pegged Hunter in the No. 2 slot. Wrote Kiper: “Cleveland lacks playmakers, and it would get one on both sides of the ball in Hunter. I’d play him primarily on offense, where his speed, ball skills and instincts helped him to 1,258 yards last season. But the Browns could also sprinkle him in at corner, especially in high-stakes parts of the game. Hunter has been my No. 1 prospect through the whole draft cycle and has the chance to be special in the pros.”

SiriusXM NFL analyst Brad Hopkins’ has Hunter going third to the New York Giants

The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman did his own mock draft and included glowing reviews from scouts on Hunter’s skillset. From Feldman: “Travis Hunter is the best pure athlete in this draft. He is a rare talent, an elite cornerback who doubles as a dynamic wideout with a gas tank like college football has never seen. “

Interestingly, Feldman predicts Hunter will go fourth to the New England Patriots. One more quote from an NFL coach in Feldman’s article: “I think he’s a better DB than he is a receiver,” a defensive coordinator said. “But he’s a really good receiver. He understands space. He’s such a smart player, period. People don’t give him enough credit for that. He’s very savvy, very instinctual. He knows where to sit down and how to create space. He has elite change of direction. Elite. His ball skills are also elite. He’s got long levers. But I think he’s a better DB because it is harder to find a shutdown corner like that. There’s only so many possessions in the NFL in a game, and he can turn the ball over, he can get it for you. He will.”

Below is a bit of history on Heisman winners in the NFL Draft.

IF Hunter were to be drafted first, he would become the 26th Heisman winner to go first overall in the NFL Draft and the sixth Heisman winner to go first overall among the last seven winners, which includes Caleb Williams to Chicago (2024), Bryce Young to Carolina (2023), Joe Burrow to Cincinnati (2020), Kyler Murray to Arizona (2019) and Baker Mayfield to Cleveland (2018).

Including Jayden Daniels, who went second overall in 2024, seven of the last eight winners have gone in the top 2.

A top 5 draft of Hunter would make him the 44th Heisman winner to be taken in top 5 and the 62nd drafted in the first round.

Among the likely NFL suitors, the Tennessee Titans have drafted five Heisman winners, most recently Marcus Mariota (2015) and Derrick Henry (2016). When the franchise was in Houston, the Oilers also drafted Eddie George (1996), Earl Campbell (1978, first overall) and Mike Rozier. (Rozier was drafted by the Oilers in the first round (second pick overall) of the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL Players, joining them in the fall of 1985.

The Cleveland Browns have drafted three Heisman winners, including Charles White (1980), Johnny Manziel (2014) and Mayfield (2018, first overall).

The New York Giants’ lone Heisman draft pick was Ron Dayne in 2000. The New England Patriots have taken two, including Joe Bellino (1961, when they were the Boston Patriots), and Jim Plunkett (1971, first overall).