Broncos GM Reveals CU Star Travis Hunter's Best NFL Position

Colorado Buffaloes star Travis Hunter is projected to be a top five pick in the 2025 NFL draft. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is one of the most unique prospects to enter the draft in the last few decades because of his versatility.

It's one thing to be a two-way player in football, but to be a two-way star is something altogether different. That's exactly what Hunter is, but as dominant and explosive as he is, that versatility has somewhat clouded his NFL projections.

Is Hunter a cornerback at the NFL level? Or is he a wide receiver?

Denver Broncos GM George Paton addressed the issue last week at the NFL Combine and even offered some advice for the Buffs superstar.

“He can be whatever he wants to be. He’s that talented," Paton said of Hunter. "We’re still working through it, but I think he should play on both sides of the ball. So I’ll just leave it at that.”

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That's actually saying quite a lot. Paton is advocating for Hunter to continue his two-way path at the highest level of football, which, unless it's a smoke screen, reveals the Broncos' thought process on the coveted prospect.

If Paton's Broncos were within actual striking distance of landing Hunter in the draft, we might be inclined to not read too much into anything the GM said about him, but sitting with the No. 20 overall pick, the Heisman Trophy winner is completely out of reach, barring a trade-up.

The farthest I could see Hunter falling is to No. 4 overall. He could go higher, and if there is such a thing as certainty in the NFL draft, his top five outlook is as close as it gets.

Hunter has claimed publicly that he'd like to stay in Colorado and move from Boulder to Denver to play for the Broncos. But there are roughly 15 NFL teams in the way of that ever becoming a reality.

Sure, the Broncos could trade up and try to get into the top five to land Hunter. But that would require mortgaging the next two drafts to accomplish, and that's not something NFL teams are inclined to do for a non-quarterback player.

And the Broncos want to build the nest around Bo Nix. Hunter could help in that endeavor, but the Broncos' roster needs reach far beyond the impact that one player could provide. Paton will be looking to stockpile as many darts as possible to throw at the draft board this year and next, and trading up for Hunter would deprive the Broncos of a lot of that ammunition.

It'll be fun to see how Hunter's story unfolds, though. While the NFL has seen successful two-way players, they've been few and far between.

If Hunter wants to continue paying both ways, it won't be easy to find an NFL team fully on board with the idea. Sure, most teams would flirt with the two-way idea initially and even tell Hunter what they think he wants to hear before steadily transitioning him to either full-time cornerback or full-time wide receiver.

However, Paton is saying that Denver would be willing to let him continue playing on both sides of the ball, whether one is inclined to believe that. Alas, we'll probably never get to see what Hunter would look like in Orange and Blue and what Paton's true vision for him would be. But it's fun to dream.

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