Travis Hunter, who dreamed of being a two-way phenom, got recruited by Coach Prime, and against the opinions of everyone in the CFB sphere, the Buffs’ superstar succeeded in his pursuits. A Heisman trophy is a living example of that success! But he has bigger dreams now—the NFL and as a part of this, there are some questions about his abilities. Can Hunter play on both sides of the ball in the NFL? If you ask him this question, he would state, ‘Absolutely’ and so would Deion Sanders!

However, those who follow the game continue to doubt. Those uncertainties ultimately also pose questions about his chances of being the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. If not Hunter, then who is going to be the No. 1 pick? A quarterback? Cam Ward? Shedeur Sanders? No, no, and another No. One expert has a particular name in mind.

Let’s get the facts straight. The 2025 class is not as loaded as the 2024 class when it comes to the quarterback position. Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, Drake Maye, JJ McCarthy, and Michael Penix Jr. In 2025, you’d say Cam and Shedeur, and that’s probably it. They wouldn’t even go in the top 10 if the teams were drafting based on talent at a particular position. That brings up the question. Who is the most talented player in the 2025 NFL Draft? Some would say, Travis Hunter. But what about Penn State star Abdul Carter?

Sure, Hunter has an impressive scorecard and the dual phenom can indeed be a double-edged sword for any team he’d get drafted to and single-handedly manage both the offense and defense. But Todd McShay like Carter better. When asked in an interview, “Would you take [Abdul] Carter over [Travis] Hunter in a vacuum?” McShay gave a reply, which is worrying for Hunter’s backers.

“Yeah, Hunter is going to be a playmaking, really good cornerback. I actually think he’s a better wide receiver, but I think it’s harder to find corners. And I think if you are planning on, and you absolutely need to plan on him being different than anyone we’ve seen before, you’ve got to find a plan. But you gotta do it as, as your folks would say, with the ‘load management’, and that’s going to be the trickiest part. You got to figure out a way to keep him healthy,” McShay said.

He isn’t the first person to raise this. People like Shannon Sharpe and Cam Newton have said similar things in the past. You can’t guard Tyreek Hill on one snap and line up against Jalen Ramsey in the next snap. That may work for a season or two, but it’s bound to shorten your career.

McShay doesn’t see a similar concern with Carter. “But with Abdul, you know what you’ve got, and you’ve got an absolute stud as a pass rusher, just like intangibles and everything that he brings. And it’s hard to – not hard to find. It’s not a unicorn. But when you can get one, you get one.”

There’s no dilemma with Nittany Lions’ linebacker Abdul Carter, who has now become a strong contender for that prized No. 1 pick. See how McShay took fewer words and less time to deliver his stance on him? While Travis Hunter has a tricky part, Carter is straightaway an “absolute stud,” if not a unicorn. We saw that in Penn State’s game against Notre Dame. An injured Carter, unable to fully use one of his arms, still wreaked havoc on the Fighting Irish’ O-line. He comes at you hungry, looking to eat the QB alive.

Both Hunter and Carter are impressive and promising young players. As a wide receiver, Hunter, coming with a 6’1″, 185 lbs frame, recorded 96 receptions and 15 touchdowns for the Buffaloes over 1258 yards. On the defensive front, he made 36 tackles and defended 11 passes in 2024.

Carter’s stat sheet isn’t so lengthy, but is definitely deeper. As the defensive linebacker, the 6’3″, 252 lbs giant stood as a wall against his rivals by bagging 68 total tackles in his junior year, out of which he single-handedly achieved 43. He assisted in 25 tackles. Many believe Carter has not received as much attention as he deserves and hence should be the NFL draft’s top pick.

On the other hand, the Heisman Trophy-winning player’s dual role call isn’t making things better for him.

Todd McShay’s previous warning to Travis Hunter…

In retrospect, Todd McShay is repeatedly insinuating the risk Hunter is, knowingly or unknowingly, taking ahead of the draft. On The Rich Eisen Show earlier this month, the NFL analyst bluntly put it out:

“Where are we gonna play him? I mean, that’s the big question because I look at him right now based off of tape, and you would think it would be cornerback. It’s his best spot, he was pitched as a cornerback coming out of high school and it was all about his cornerback skills, and he is a dynamic player on that side of the ball. I actually think, Richie, that he’s a better wide receiver right now.”

McShay also gave away a trivia about Travis Hunter’s coach, Deion Sanders. “If you go back in history, even Deion, he had some 60 career catches or something. Champ Bailey had 2. The point is all these guys, we think back and yeah they did some stuff on both sides of the ball, it’s minuscule in terms of production on the offensive side.”

History does have players who played both sides in their team. Apart from Sanders, there’s also Troy Brown, who began his New England Patriots career as a wide receiver but filled in at cornerback for several years. He later switched to defense as the Patriots chased their third ring in four years in 2024.

However, recruiters consistently prefer a hassle-free player with no tricky ends and no load management needs, and it would be interesting to see if Hunter would be an exception. But what are Hunter’s thoughts? In 2024, talking about his unique skills, he stated, “I want to play both… A lot of people told me I wasn’t gonna do it at the college level. I ended up doing it. I know there’s a lot of people telling me I can’t do the NFL. And then when I end up doing it, they gonna say … I know it’s a lot to bite off. But hey, I believe I can do it.”

Well, we can only wait and see. What do you think?