With just over two weeks until the 2025 NFL Draft, there is plenty of attention on what the Cleveland Browns will do with the second overall pick. The Browns still need to find a quarterback after trading for Kenny Pickett this offseason, and they have several needs as they look to elevate a team that cratered from a playoff participant to a 3-14 team last season.
Many believe that reaching for a quarterback like Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders is the answer. But there’s another group that thinks taking the best player available such as Penn State’s Abdul Carter or Colorado’s Travis Hunter is a better strategy.
It leads to a debate that will rage on until the Browns are on the clock on Apr. 24. But it already has one potential target having some doubters before he even sets foot on an NFL field.
Steve Smith Sr. Sends Message to Browns Draft Target Travis Hunter
Former Carolina Panthers legend Steve Smith was one of many NFL dignitaries who attended Hunter’s pro day in Boulder, Colo. over the weekend. While watching Hunter run a deep over route, Smith raised his doubts that the two-way star could continue to play both cornerback and wide receiver when he arrives in the NFL.
“The only thing I was saying was that he was sitting down and he put his hands backward, which would indicate to a defender that he was going to break down,” Smith said. “So I need him to keep both his hands moving. But he’ll learn that as he hones in on his craft more and more in the league, he’ll be fine."
"That’s why he most likely will have to play one position primarily, so he can master his craft. Because you never want to be a jack of all trade and a master of none. They don’t pay masters of none. They pay craftsmen."Steve Smith Sr.
Hunter profiles as a two-way player after a standout career at Colorado. He excelled defensively, making 36 total tackles with four interceptions, 11 pass defenses, and a forced fumble while playing cornerback for the Buffaloes. But he may have been better as a receiver, catching 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy last season.
It’s a skill set that Hunter has honed over several years, learning from one of the most versatile players in NFL history, Deion Sanders. But while Sanders was an MLB star in addition to being one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time, other two-way legends in college couldn’t duplicate their roles in the pros including Georgia’s Champ Bailey, Michigan’s Desmond Howard, and Ohio State’s Chris Gamble.
Hunter seems to disagree and believes he can do it despite the massive workload that would include positional meetings (which sometimes occur at the same time) and a massive snap count against bigger and stronger athletes at the next level.
“At least give me the option,” Hunter said on his podcast in February. “Don’t just try to shut me down and force me to do one thing. I’ve been doing it my whole life. Ain’t nothing that’s gonna stop me from doing it. So I’m gonna keep doing what I do.”
But the good news for the Browns is that they have the bandwidth to add Hunter at wide receiver and cornerback. While Jerry Jeudy is coming off a breakout season, Cedric Tillman and Michael Woods II are currently projected as outside starters on Cleveland’s offense. Cornerback is just as bleak as Denzel Ward suffered his sixth documented concussion last season and Martin Emerson Jr. is listed as the second starter with Greg Newsome II in the slot.
That’s probably why The Athletic's Jeff Howe reported over the weekend that Hunter is the favorite to go to the Browns with the second overall pick in next month’s draft. It’s just a matter of if they pull the trigger and how they plan to use him, which will determine his success in the NFL.