George Pickens once confessed his current performance is only “80%” of what he has got to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburg Post-Gazette. The statement has left people wondering where he would stand if he merely grazed his 100%. What about when he absolutely hits the ceiling? His 80% was enough to qualify him as a prospect of the top 5 WR in the league in 2024. Would this translate his 100% to him being the top WR? As Pickens continues to build his dominance in the league, Kevin Pope believes it might already be under threat, thanks to Travis Hunter.

‘Atlanta’s secret weapon’ has seen his fair share of football talents to anticipate who would make it big in the league. In his interview with ON3, Pope revealed the one who he thinks is already ‘one up’ against Pickens. “I think Travis Hunter is one up on George because George only played one side of the ball,” Pope confessed. Pickens impacted his college days, sure. His impact in the NFL, however, is a thing to behold. The suave he has in his catches makes him the standout WR he is today. Like the one in the second-week against Cleveland Browns where he finished with iconic 4 catches, with a career high 127 yards, and a touchdown on 10 targets.

However, it was not as big as Travis Hunter had made as a two-way star, with one year still left. All that paired with him being the Paul Hornung recipient and a Consensus First-Team All-American. And how can we forget the ‘special reason’ Pope mentioned: Hunter playing on both sides of the ball. Hunter is one of the few players who does it all ever so smoothly on both sides of the ball. As a WR, Hunter has recorded 57 receptions, 721 yards, and five touchdowns. If anything, for any team looking for a player for either the offensive side or the defensive side of the team, Hunter would be their top prospect. Per his head coach Deion Sanders, there is one thing that might hold him back.

The hindrances that Travis Hunter might face

Deion Sanders wants nothing less than the best for Hunter. Along with his son, Prime also wants the two-way star to go to only certain teams by pulling an “Eli Manning” move. However, his biggest strength might be the thing that can hold the teams back from drafting him. Teams generally look for players who could play on the single side of the ball.

Whereas for Hunter, “If he doesn’t play offense and defense, that’s not normalcy for him. He wants normalcy, that’s playing both sides of the ball,” as Sanders puts it. Finding a team that would invest in Hunter to hone his skills to the NFL level on both sides of the ball would be the biggest challenge and deciding factor for Hunter in the 2024 NFL draft.

Deion Sanders has been shortlisted ahead of the NFL draft. The five teams that Deion Sanders played for, plus the Philadelphia Eagles.