The NFL Draft is less than a month away and while most folks are focused on who will be picked first overall or which quarterbacks will be taken in the first round, the fate of the 2024-25 Heisman Trophy winner has been lost in the shuffle.
Colorado DB/WR Travis Hunter was long considered the projected No. 1 overall pick for most of the college football season, but in recent months that coveted landing spot has been occupied by Miami QB Cam Ward. Hunter, instead, looks to be headed for a date with the Cleveland Browns (No. 2), New York Giants (No. 3) or New England Patriots (No. 3).
However, one NFL insider says it's not impossible to think another team outside the Top 10 could find a way to jump up and take the league's potential first major two-way player since Hunter's coach in Boulder — Deion Sanders.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reportedly has his eye on Travis Hunter
The Athletic's Dianna Russini said on her podcast Scoop City on Friday that Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones "really likes" Hunter.
Could Travis Hunter be Jerry Jones' new Deion Sanders?
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 28, 2025
What I'm hearing about the Cowboys' interest in the Heisman winner: https://t.co/OtMHsPxA93 pic.twitter.com/H6P598ELhv
"That's a very Dallas Cowboy move," Russini said of the hypothetical scenario in which Dallas moves up from pick No. 12 to get Hunter in the Top 3. "Just because they like him doesn't mean they're going to do it."
It would, indeed, be a logistical nightmare for Jones to navigate in order to come up with the capital necessary to convince a team like the Browns or a division rival like the Giants to come down from so high up. But the storyline and narrative Jones could write by drafting a two-way star like Hunter, especially with the history both have with Sanders, might be worth the gamble.
In 1995, Sanders signed a seven-year, $35 million deal with Dallas after turning down more money elsewhere because Jones promised him more time on offense than at his usual cornerback position.
Hunter recorded a career-high 1,258 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024. On defense, he logged nine interceptions and a pick-six across three seasons.
While it may not be an apples-to-apples situation, there's certainly precedent for Jones to try the great two-way experiment again with a younger (and presumably cheaper) player of projected equal talent.
In reality, it's more likely not going to happen. But we've seen weirder things happen on draft night.