Patriots Receive Bad News On Travis Hunter Sweepstakes With No 4

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 7:51 AM

Send this article to your social connections. Send this article to your social connections. If the Patriots are looking to land the sought-after “best player available’ with the No. 4 pick in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft, two of the top talents in this draft class in Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter may not be in the running. Even if New England’s most pressing need on the roster is the vacancy at left tackle, a premier pass-rushing force like Carter or a game-changing playmaker on both sides of the ball inn Hunter... But, such a scenario looks like a long shot for the Patriots.

Following a Heisman Trophy-winning campaign from superstar Travis Hunter, criticism continues to roll in about where the dual-threat talent should play. Hunter has dealt with a steady stream of doubters on his journey to the NFL. While No. 12 may be confident in his ability to play both WR and CB, many around the league are not. Doubts about Hunter’s ability to handle full games at both WR and CB might be justified. If that’s the case, where should the generational talent line up?

Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky has a clear opinion. Orlovsky’s comment came as Kay Adams was joined by New England Patriots de facto general manager Eliot Wolf on her show “Up & Adams.” The man calling the shots in New England gave a... “That’s a great question,” said Wolf. “I think if he’s available, which is a huge question mark, that will be up to the coaching staff to determine where he is going to fit in and also if we would even... The doubts can pile up but won’t shake the 21-year-old’s confidence. The Colorado product believes he can play both WR and CB and plans to deliver wherever he lands.

As the draft quickly approaches, guesswork about who will go where and when in the 2025 NFL draft abounds. With pick No. 4, the Patriots are in the thick of the mix and the speculation. While how they got that fourth pick is not optimal, having it is still a positive. At No. 4, the good news is you can get the best player at his position in the draft.

In the case of the Patriots, who have multiple positions that need to be filled, it must be that level of player. Fortunately, the situation will afford the opportunity to do just that. In this scenario, we'll assume some prognostications are correct, and absent a trade up, the best player in the draft, multi-positional Travis Hunter, will be taken by pick No. 4. That's what winning a meaningless game will do for you. Regardless, the Patriots will have several solid options.

We'll explore four here. Penn State's edge, Abdul Carter, is a transcendent non-quarterback in the draft. He's been compared to Micah Parsons of Dallas—high praise indeed. The Nittany Lion posted awesome 2024 numbers, racking up 64 stops, 24 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, four passes defended, and two forced fumbles in 16 games. If Carter is available at pick No. 4, he's the pick, assuming he's checked out medically.

Even though the Patriots added two solid edge players in free agency, Carter is too good to pass up at a position of need. It's a no-brainer pick for Mike Vrabel's defense. The ideal scenario for many New England Patriots fans in the 2025 NFL Draft is Travis Hunter falling to the No. 4 pick, but the question remains regarding what side of the ball they would have Hunter play, and vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf was asked about that dilemma in a recent interview. “If he's available, which is a huge question mark, that will be up to the coaching staff to determine where he's going to fit in and also if we'd even pick him,” Eliot Wolf... That is a fair point by Wolf.

It seems like as things currently stand, the Tennessee Titans are likely to go with Cam Ward at No. 1, while the Cleveland Browns are leaning towards Abdul Carter at No. 1. It might come down to what the New York Giants do at No. 3, as they could go with quarterback Shedeur Sanders, but that is up in the air as well. If the Giants do not like Sanders, they could opt to go with Hunter, leaving the Patriots in a bit of a tough spot.

New Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said that he would not put a limit on what Hunter could do when he was asked about the two-way star. “There are some things that he can do by concentrating on one position, but never going to put any restrictions on Travis or any player,” Mike Vrabel said, via Patriots.com. “We try to, as much as they can handle, we're going to put more on their plate. If he were on our football team and he showed a great skill in one position and he was starting to really do well and his conditioning didn't fall off and didn't drop, we... The New England Patriots own the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft later this month, and the general consensus is that if wide receiver Travis Hunter is available, the Patriots will take him. Hunter is widely viewed as a generational talent and was featured on both sides of the ball at Colorado, also playing cornerback.

He was so dominant in 2024 that he managed to win the Heisman Trophy, establishing himself as potentially the best all-around player in this year's draft class. With the Patriots desperately needing to add weapons for Drake Maye, you would think that New England wouldn't hesitate to select Hunter if he were on the board at No. 4, but Pats executive Eliot Wolf dropped a weird comment on the superstar during a recent appearance on the Up & Adams Show. More specifically, Wolf was asked if Hunter would be playing wide receiver or cornerback if the Patriots selected him. “That’s a great question, and I think if he’s available, which is a huge question mark, that will be up to the coaching staff to determine where he’s going to fit in and also... The New England Patriots may have a very difficult draft decision on their hands this spring.

Every Patriots fan is painfully aware that their team could have had the number-one pick in this draft had they simply lost their final regular-season game against the Buffalo Bills. Instead, rookie quarterback Joe Milton balled out, and New England dropped to number four. Because the Patriots don't need a quarterback, there are probably three prospects they'll be considering if they stay at the fourth pick: Penn State edge-rusher Abdul Carter, Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, and LSU... Assuming Carter, the consensus number-one prospect in the draft, doesn't fall to the Patriots, they'll be forced to either take a gamble on Hunter's two-way experiment at the NFL level or go the "safe"... On Monday, Kyle Crabbs of The 33rd Team predicted that New England would gamble on upside. In his 2025 mock draft, Crabbs paired Hunter with the Patriots at the number-four selection.

The New England Patriots are in desperate need to hit it right in this year's NFL Draft. With the exception of their budding franchise quarterback Drake Maye, there wasn't much promise in anyone else that they acquired last spring. Now officially owning the No. 4 overall selection, the Patriots will be looking for a stud receiver who can slide in and make an impact from the get-go. The Tennessee Titans have a bevy of their own needs as they are currently on the clock from now until April 24. One of those is a quarterback, but it will be tough for the Titans to pass up on the coveted talents that No.

1 prospect Travis Hunter can provide. With the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants also in a murky quarterback situation, a lot remains in the air on who will be available for the Patriots. Send this article to your social connections. Send this article to your social connections. Given the number of glaring holes sprinkled across the Patriots’ depth chart, the case can be made that New England needs to target the best player available when they land on the clock with... 4 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Though the team’s most pressing need might be a left tackle, the Patriots’ best chances of adding an immediate impact player at No. 4 likely lies in either Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter or CB/WR Travis Hunter falling to them at that spot on the draft order. Both Carter and Hunter sit atop this current NFL Draft class as can’t-miss, blue-chip prospects — and would each give the Patriots a legitimate star talent who could make an immediate impact in 2025.

Patriots Receive Bad News On Travis Hunter Sweepstakes With No 4

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