New England Patriots To Draft Colorado Buffaloes Star Travis Hunter In NFL Draft?

Colorado Buffaloes star wide receiver and defensive back, Travis Hunter is expected to be a top-five selection in the upcoming NFL Draft after winning the Heisman Trophy during his junior season. With the conclusion of the NFL Combine, ESPN's Jordan Reid released his latest mock draft, and Reid has the New England Patriots selecting Hunter with the No. 4 overall pick.

Hunter's position in the NFL is still yet to be determined. He was listed as a defensive back by the NFL Combine, but the Colorado star has made it clear he wants to play both positions at the next level after excelling at wide receiver and cornerback in college.

Would the Patriots play Hunter on both sides of the ball? New England recently hired former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel as the new leader of the franchise. Vrabel also played linebacker for the Patriots during his playing career, leading some to believe that the New England coach would prefer Hunter to stay on defense should he be selected with the fourth overall pick.

Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Colorado defensive back Travis Hunter (DB15) during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Tanner Pearson-Imagn Images

"The Patriots have a lot of needs, with offensive tackle and receiver being the biggest. They can address some of those issues using their $129.6 million in cap space in free agency (the most in the league, per Roster Management System), then drafting the best player on the board. That would be Hunter. His two-way ability would pair well opposite Christian Gonzalez at cornerback and give Drake Maye a talented option out wide," said Reid in his latest mock draft on ESPN.

As Reid notes, New England does have a lockdown defensive back in Christian Gonzalez, who played his first two seasons of college football at Colorado before transferring to the Oregon Ducks and eventually being drafted by the Patriots. Gonzalez received second team All-Pro honors after the 2024 regular season.

However, New England struggled on both sides of the ball in 2024, finishing last in the AFC East and eventually firing coach Jerod Mayo. The Patriots offense ranked 30th in the league, scoring an average of 17.0 points per game, while the scoring defense ranked 22nd, allowing 24.5 points per game.

Jan 5, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) warms up before the start of the game against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The Patriots' defensive backfield certainly needs help alongside Gonzalez, but the receiving corps in New England could also use Hunter's talents on offense. Although playing with a rookie quarterback in Drake Maye for 13 games, no Patriots wideout reached the 1,000-yard receiving mark. In fact, New England's leading receiver was actually tight end Hunter Henry.

Henry finished the 2024 season with 674 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The next closest Patriots were wide receivers Demario Douglas with 621 receiving yards and Kayshon Boutte with 589 receiving yards.

This past year with Colorado, Hunter totaled 1,258 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns while catching passes from Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders. For his efforts, Hunter won the Biletnikoff Award, presented to the most outstanding wide receiver in college football. He also won the Benarik award, given to the defensive player of the year in college football, becoming the first player to ever win both awards, let alone in the same season.

Hunter's excellence on both sides of the ball has cemented him as one of the top prospects in the draft, but he has left NFL teams with an interesting decision as to his positioning in the league.