Kendall Valenzuela delves into the Travis Hunter multiverse, projecting how he would fare as a wide receive for the Browns, Patriots, and Giants in 2025.

Travis Hunter has been described as not only the best player in the 2025 NFL Draft class, but a generational talent as a two-way player, spending time playing both cornerback and wide receiver. We have never seen anyone like Hunter and are entering unprecedented territory—will he mainly play cornerback? Will an NFL team like the Browns view him more as a wide receiver? Could he really split his time between both positions and find success?

That's what we're breaking down today in the Travis Hunter Multiverse. For this exercise there are three different paths that Hunter could take on draft night, each one leading to different fantasy football outcomes for the upcoming season. Let's dive into the best-case scenarios…

Travis Hunter's Multiverse

To set the scene, here's just how good Hunter was in college (and why he has made so much noise these last few months). The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner led Colorado last season in both coverage production and receiving yards. He tied for No. 10 in the FBS with 1.2 passes defensed per game in 2024 and also walked away with four interceptions. As for his receiver traits? Our own Thor Nystrom said if Hunter were strictly coming out as a wide receiver that he would have him ranked ahead of Tetairoa McMillan. He had 96 catches for 1,258 yards last season and even better: on balls thrown 20+ yards downfield, he posted a perfect 99.9 PFF grade with 15.44 YPRR.

Hunter is going to be productive in the NFL, but the biggest question is how will he be utilized? The easiest answer? It's going to be team dependent. Time to enter the multiverse, let's see what Hunter would look like if he were drafted by either the New York Giants, New England Patriots, or Cleveland Browns. 

If Drafted By The New York Giants

The Giants have the third overall pick in this year's NFL Draft and they already made their quarterback moves during the offseason after signing both Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. They also already have a tried and true WR1 in Malik Nabers, so there would be no need to have Hunter play primarily receiver. It's much easier to see Hunter play full-time cornerback here, because it would truly be an upgrade over former first-rounder Deonte Banks, who had a 50.3 PFF coverage grade last season.

In Dwain McFarland's projections, the best-case fantasy football scenario would see Hunter notch a 50% route participation with 20% targets per route run leading to 474 yards and 6.1 fantasy points per game. This landing spot makes Hunter pretty undraftable in fantasy football because of the lack of production we would see him have on offense.

If Hunter played an even truer part-time receiver role with 25% route participation and 20% targets per route run, he would produce only 237 yards, 1.7 touchdowns and 3.1 fantasy points per game. 

For fantasy football purposes, this is the landing spot we are cheering against on the first night of the draft. 

If He's A New England Patriot

To me, this would be the biggest wild card in terms of landing spot for Hunter. Could he be the true WR1 even with Stefon Diggs on the roster? Remember, Diggs will make $69 million over three years with $26 million guaranteed, but the team can get out of the deal with a minimal dead cap hit after 2025. 

On the other side, do they really need cornerback help with Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis? It seems more obvious that the Patriots need more help at receiver than corner right now, especially considering how important Drake Maye's development is to the franchise. Last season the Patriots ranked 32nd in wide receiver yards (1,723) and that was the sixth-lowest single-season mark among any offense since 2020. Get this man some help!

So what would Hunter look like as a part-time receiver in this offense? According to the projections, with 55% route participation and 22% targets per route run, Hunter would finish with 504 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 6.3 fantasy points per game. Now remember this is with a true split, if the Patriots drafted Hunter and decided that they needed to fix their biggest problem at receiver, then the outlook would be even better. I would be surprised if Hunter fell to the Patriots at No. 4 overall, but if he did they must play him where he's needed: wide receiver. 

If Drafted By The Cleveland Browns

The Browns general manager Andrew Berry already revealed his hand speaking at the podium at the NFL Scouting Combine—the team is evaluating Hunter primarily as a wide receiver rather than a cornerback. 

Here's the full quote: 

"We would see him as a receiver primarily first, but I think part of what makes him a bit of a unicorn is the fact that he can do both at a high level."

The Browns had a breakout season from Jerry Jeudy last season that proved (for now) that he wasn't “just a guy.” They also still have David Njoku as a weapon, but the Browns' wide receivers and tight ends ranked 25th when averaging ESPN's “Open Score.” 

It's obvious that Cleveland would benefit from adding Hunter as a full-time receiver. So what could the best-case scenario be for fantasy football?

First and foremost, the Browns need to add another quarterback other than Kenny Pickett to find this success. If they do that and if Hunter sees a 90% route participation with 23% targets per route run, he is projected to finish with 1,011 yards, 6.3 touchdowns and 12.6 fantasy points per game. Again, this is all contingent on the Browns adding to that quarterback room, something that head coach Kevin Stefanski and Berry have acknowledged will happen this offseason. 

Could Kirk Cousins be the answer in Cleveland? Not only was he replaced by Michael Penix Jr. toward the end of last season, but the Falcons have been very consistent in their message: Penix is the starting quarterback for 2025. Cousins also has previous experience working with Stefanski, so a potential reunion seems like it really is on the table.

Takeaways

No matter what, Travis Hunter is too talented to make it past the Patriots with the fourth overall pick. The best landing spots between the three teams listed above are the Browns and potentially the Patriots (depending on whether they decide to play him as a full-time receiver). 

The bottom line: Hunter has the talent to play on either side. He's capable of doing both, even in an alternating role, but his development should never be rushed. The skills are there to unlock every level of the field, but we're going to have to wait to see where his true potential lies based on what team drafts him. Selfishly for fantasy managers, we want to see Hunter added to the team that will use him as a full-time receiver. Nonetheless, I'm excited to potentially witness football's version of Shohei Ohtani (shoutout to the best comp ever from Thor Nystrom).