The Case For Travis Hunter: Only debate is if Patriots should trade up

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.

The case for the Patriots drafting Travis Hunter is a simple one. They are in desperate need of top-end talent, and Hunter is one of two true blue-chippers in this year's draft class.

If there was some alternate universe in which Hunter, the dual-threat Heisman Trophy-winner from Colorado, falls to No. 4 overall? The Patriots would be starting the Mike Vrabel era with a no-brainer draft-day decision by taking the supremely-gifted cornerback/receiver.

The real question here is whether or not Hunter would be worthy of the Patriots trading up from where they currently sit in order to give themselves a better shot at nabbing one of the most dynamic college players in a generation.

Before we get into that, let's dig into the details on Hunter, and why he'd be the kind of franchise-altering pick the Patriots need.

Start with this: While the 2025 draft class looks less-than-stellar from a star-power standpoint, Hunter likely would be a top-of-the-first round player regardless of the year because he provides high-end value at two separate premium positions.

Hunter's desire is to play both corner and receiver at the next level. League evaluators, meanwhile, seem to be leaning toward playing him primarily at corner and allowing him to moonlight at receiver by giving him special packages on the offensive side of the ball. (At the upcoming NFL Scouting Combine, he'll work out with the corners, which is a decent indication as to where teams view his best position as a pro.)

Having the stamina to play the number of snaps he played as a collegian is impressive in its own right. His conditioning is off the charts, and the preparation required to play that many plays on a weekly basis as a close-to-full-time player both ways? Hard to fathom.

It's less likely he'll be able to pull that off at the professional level, where the game is faster and the collisions more damaging. But wherever he ultimately plays more snaps, the Patriots could use him.

Hunter was a lock-down defender with the second-highest coverage grade of any FBS corner last season, per Pro Football Focus, and in New England he’d make up a dynamite corner duo opposite Second-Team All-Pro Christian Gonzalez. It wouldn’t take long for the Patriots to improve upon their 30th-ranked defense from 2024 in both DVOA and dropback DVOA. 

In a league where many of the best offenses don’t stop adding receivers after they’ve found their No. 1, the Patriots would have the ultimate rebuttal.

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With Gonzalez already in the fold, though, Vrabel might try to make the argument that the best place for Hunter to focus his time is on offense.

That's where Hunter, if he becomes an elite wideout, might be able to rake in the most cash as a pro. More importantly for the Patriots, that's their more obvious area of need after they finished 30th in points, 30th in red zone efficiency, 29th on third down and last in pass plays of 20 yards or more a season ago. 

At 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, Hunter doesn't have the body type of a true physically-dominant "X" receiver on the outside. But with his explosive athleticism, sure hands and excellent ball-tracking skills, he finished his college career with a 63.3 percent contested catch rate and just a 2.3 percent drop rate.

Per Reel Analytics, going into his final season for the Buffalos, Hunter measured as the most athletic player in their database out of 17,000.

The No. 2 player on NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah's top-50 list (behind only Penn State's Abdul Carter), Hunter possesses smooth movement skills that allow him to shake free of press coverage as a receiver as well as get in and out of his breaks with suddenness.

His combination of body control, elusiveness and competitiveness at the catch point -- all combined in a wiry frame -- helped him draw comparisons from Jeremiah and others to star Jets wideout Garrett Wilson.

If all that Hunter brings to the table became available to the Patriots at No. 4, taking him would be a no-brainer. But, in all likelihood, due in part to the 2025 quarterback class having real question marks, Hunter could go inside the top two or three picks in April.

Should the Patriots move up to get him? Is he that valuable? There is a case to be made there. He could provide Drake Maye the kind of receiving weapon Maye needs to transform the Patriots from a pop-gun offense to something more diabolical. He also could help give Vrabel one of the stoutest secondaries in football. 

But the assets required to move up and select Hunter would be significant. 

Going off of the old (but still in use) Jimmy Johnson draft-day trade chart, there is a difference of 1,200 points between picks No. 4 and No. 1. That might require the Patriots giving up this year's second-rounder and their 2026 first-rounder just to give themselves a three-pick bump. 

Exciting as Hunter's NFL future may be, for a team with as many needs as the Patriots have, sending off multiple premium draft assets in a move like that one would be ill-advised. Even for a player with rare versatility who would help them solve more than one roster issue.