Buffs Beat

Jacksonville Jaguars Draft Travis Hunter: Hunter's Energetic Reaction To NFL Draft Trade

Former Colorado Buffaloes cornerback/wide receiver and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. Hunter is striving to continue playing both ways in the NFL, but how much will the Jaguars allow?
Jack Carlough|
Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter is selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars as the number two pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter is selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars as the number two pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Colorado Buffaloes

The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted former Colorado Buffaloes cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Hunter, the second Heisman Trophy winner in Colorado history, becomes the first immediate former Buff selected in the NFL Draft since offensive lineman Will Sherman went to the New England Patriots in 2021. It's unclear how the Jaguars will utilize Hunter, but the generational talent has shared that he'd like to continue playing both ways at the next level.

NFL draft prospect, Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter, arrives during the NFL Draft Red Carpet event at Lambeau
NFL draft prospect, Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter, arrives during the NFL Draft Red Carpet event at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Thursday, April 24, 2025. | Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Hunter made history on Thursday as just the fourth top-five draft pick from the Colorado Buffaloes.

After moving from Florida to Georgia soon before high school, Hunter became the top overall prospect in the 2022 recruiting class. The Collins Hill High School product shocked many when he flipped his college commitment from Florida State to Jackson State in 2021 to play for coach Deion Sanders and eventually the Colorado Buffaloes.

The Cleveland Browns were in possession of the No. 2 overall pick but made a last-minute trade with the Jaguars. Cleveland will now pick No. 5.

All signs point to Hunter being a franchise-changing player for the Jaguars. Jacksonville won only four games last season and has reached the NFL playoffs only four times since 2000.

During Hunter's freshman season at Jackson State, he missed time with an injury but still finished with 18 catches for 188 yards and four touchdowns, 19 total tackles, two interceptions and eight passes defended.

Hunter then followed "Coach Prime," quarterback Shedeur Sanders and other Jackson State standouts to Colorado prior in December of 2022. During the 2023 season, Hunter recorded 721 receiving yards, five touchdowns, 30 tackles, three interceptions and five passes defended.

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This past season, Hunter enjoyed one of the best individual campaigns in college football history while playing both wide receiver and cornerback full-time. His 1,258 receiving yards, 16 total touchdowns, four interceptions and 11 passes defended helped earn him the Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Award, Paul Hornung Award, Bednarik Award, Biletnikoff Award and other honors.

Dec 21, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes Heisman trophy winner Travis Hunter before the game against the Bell
Dec 21, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes Heisman trophy winner Travis Hunter before the game against the Bellarmine Knights at CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

"It's up to them to want me to be on their team and the organization to believe that they can let me do exactly what I want to do, and that's play both sides of the ball and be the same Travis that I was in college and better," Hunter said in a recent interview with CBS Sports. "I don't believe in wishing to be the second overall pick. If it was up to me, I'll be the first overall pick. I'm blessed to be the best player in this, one of the best players in this draft, in this class, so I'm blessed to be where I'm at."

"Coach Prime" also believes Hunter is more than capable of playing both ways.

"The NFL is a slow game," Deion Sanders said in an interview with NFL Network. "You huddle (every play). How is the contact nowadays? Minimal. That game is more conducive to him being successful than a college game. College is tempo, tempo, tempo. Now, you're talking about you have to be in shape. Pros, how many seconds between plays? Please, he's going to go jogging after the darn game because he's going to have all that energy man. He is built for this."

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Jack Carlough
JACK CARLOUGH

Jack Carlough is lead reporter for Colorado Buffaloes on SI. Jack graduated from the University of Colorado with a bachelor's degree in journalism and minors in business and sports media. Born and raised in the Boulder area, Jack began covering Colorado athletics in 2018 and was the head sports editor of the CU Independent during his college career. More recently, he spent over three years as the managing editor of the USA Today Sports Network's Colorado Buffaloes Wire, where he covered Colorado's hiring of head football coach Deion Sanders. Other publications Jack has written for include the Boulder Daily Camera, Left Hand Valley Courier and SB Nation’s Ralphie Report. In 2022, the Colorado Press Association awarded Jack second place in its annual Class 5 Best Sports Column Writing category.

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