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Travis Hunter At No 4 Mike Reiss Really Wants Patriots To Draft Two

Bonisiwe Shabane
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travis hunter at no 4 mike reiss really wants patriots to draft two

March 24, 2025 / 1:31 PM EDT / CBS Boston The NFL Draft is one month away, and ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss has one target in mind for the New England Patriots with the fourth overall pick: Travis Hunter. Hunter was a dynamic two-way star for the Colorado Buffaloes in 2024, making plays as both a wide receiver and a cornerback. In addition to taking home last year's Heisman Trophy, Hunter also earned both the Chuck Bednarik Award (given to the top defensive player in college football) and the Walter Camp Player of the Year... Last year for the Buffaloes, Hunter caught 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns on offense. He also notched 36 tackles, four interceptions, and 11 passes defended on the defensive side.

It's unclear if he'll play both sides of the ball in the NFL, which will likely depend on which team drafts him. The Patriots are also in need of a left tackle, so LSU's Will Campbell Missouri's Armond Membou have been linked to New England in the pre-draft hoopla. But if Hunter is available when the Patriots are scheduled to make the fourth overall selection, Reiss doesn't want to see any hesitation from the organization. Phil Perry says Travis Hunter is one of just two blue chip players in this year’s draft. Experts expect Hunter to mainly play on the defensive side of the ball, but Perry argues that he could play wide receiver for the Patriots full time while moonlighting at cornerback. Editor's Note: The New England Patriots have a host of roster needs at critical positions, but which one should they address with the No.

4 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft? As part of his "The Case For" series, Phil Perry will highlight five different draft-day options for the Patriots and explain why each may (or may not) be the best course of action. Today's scenario involves New England selecting Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter. Subscribe to NBC Sports Boston's podcast network to hear our Insiders bring you the latest insights on your favorite teams! As the New England Patriots mull over their options at pick No. 4, head coach Mike Vrabel understands they won't know exactly who is available until they're officially on the clock.

"Nope. Do you have any idea?" he jokingly responded at the AFC coaches breakfast on Monday when asked if the team has clarity on how things may go at the top of the draft. "You tell me who goes 1, 2, and 3 and I'll tell you who goes 4." If the board does fall the right way, New England—picking within the top five of the NFL draft for a second consecutive season—could have a chance at drafting a generational talent in hybrid player... The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner played wide receiver and cornerback during his time at the University of Colorado, and shined on both sides of the ball. Vrabel was asked about Hunter on Monday and refused to put him in a box, insinuating that the Patriots would be open to playing him on both offense and defense.

"I think there are some things he can improve on by probably concentrating on just one position," he explained. "But never going to put any restrictions on Travis, or any player. We try to—as much as they can handle—we’re going to continue to put more on their plate." 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. 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.

Phil Perry is sharing the buzz he’s hearing about Travis Hunter at the NFL Combine on the latest Next Pats Podcast. The consensus on the 2025 NFL Draft class is that there are two "blue chip" prospects in Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter and Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter. And it's possible the New England Patriots will have the chance to take one of them at No. 4 overall. That's what our Patriots Insider Phil Perry is hearing after speaking to evaluators and others around the league at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. During a new Next Pats Podcast on Wednesday, Perry relayed what he's been told about the top of the draft, and how Hunter specifically could be available to the Patriots at No.

4 if the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants take quarterbacks with the second and third picks, respectively. Subscribe to NBC Sports Boston's podcast network to hear our Insiders bring you the latest insights on your favorite teams! Ever since the New England Patriots won their meaningless Week 18 game, which cost the franchise the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the best-case scenario for the first round has been obvious. The Pats’ dream has been for two quarterbacks to be taken in the first three picks, which would ensure that either Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter falls to them at No. 4.

In this draft class, Hunter and Carter are the clear-cut top prospects, a tier ahead of the rest. If the Pats could land either of them, that would go a long way toward boosting a roster that lacks true difference-makers. Now, with the draft a little more than two weeks away, teams are finalizing their boards and prospect rankings. The top quarterbacks have already completed their pro days and thrown for the interested teams. So let’s check on where things stand with the Patriots’ goal of landing Hunter or Carter with the fourth pick. For the sake of this exercise, we’ll assume the Tennessee Titans pick quarterback Cam Ward at No.

1 — because that seems close to a given, considering the Titans canceled their private workout with Shedeur Sanders, all but ensuring Ward will be the pick. Abdul Carter has all the traits of a dominant edge rusher 😤 @1NCRDB1 @Pennstatefball

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