Travis Hunter Is A Unicorn And Will Break Fantasy Football

In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Bud Light:

I know we are in the throes of NFL Free Agency, but I can’t stop thinking about Travis Hunter.

Sure, I could feign some interest in the Ravens signing DeAndre Hopkins or MVS signing with the 14th team of his career (don’t fact-check this), but I’m much more interested in the discourse surrounding Hunter.

I know we are in the throes of NFL Free Agency, but I can’t stop thinking about Travis Hunter.

Sure, I could feign some interest in the Ravens signing DeAndre Hopkins or MVS signing with the 14th team of his career (don’t fact-check this), but I’m much more interested in the discourse surrounding Hunter.

Pete Overzet

As Gene Clemons noted last week, Hunter is the most unique prospect we’ve ever seen in the NFL.

He’s both the best WR in this draft class and the best DB in this class.

This, of course, begs the question: How will Hunter be utilized in the NFL?

Our resident draft expert, Thor Nystrom, has an awesome scouting report profile on him below that I highly recommend reading. His official comp for Hunter isn’t even an NFL player!

The most interesting thing about the Hunter eval for me, however, is how this translates to fantasy.

Thor makes a strong case that Hunter will be a full-time cornerback while still playing part-time on offense, but I’m making the complete opposite bet in early drafts and think he’s one of the biggest steals in recent memory.

My case boils down to a few key points:

Dwain’s WR Super Model—more on that below—gives Hunter the same prospect rating as CeeDee Lamb and Jameson Williams.

High-end WRs make significantly more money than high-end DBs. Hunter is going to want to get paid like a WR.

Hunter is very cheap right now (10th-round pick) and you only need a few spike weeks to pay off at that cost.

He is going to get drafted to a bad team that will not be in playoff contention. Is a 3-12 team really going to have him waste snaps at DB down the stretch or give their fans something to enjoy? Hunter will be playing WR when it matters the most for fantasy players.

Fortunately, we will have much more information after the NFL Draft as to how his new team wants to deploy him.

But for now, there is significantly more upside in treating Hunter as a full-time WR in drafts than there is downside in treating him like a DB.

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2025 Rookie Wide Receiver Tiers

While we’re on the subject of Travis Hunter (and even more on him in the next segment), it makes sense to zoom out and take a look at the WR class as a whole, including Hunter, the lone potential part-time player (positionally) in the class.

If operating under the assumption that Hunter is a full-time wideout, as Pete mentioned previously, the upside is hard to resist.

That’s exactly how Dwain McFarland’s Wide Receiver Super Model approaches Hunter—as if he’s playing receiver full time.

So, what does the model think? Only one wideout has a higher Super Model rating than Hunter does this season. Who is it? 👇

ONLY ONE WR SCORED AT LEAST A 90 OUT OF 100

Travis Hunter Is Football’s Shohei Ohtani

To compare Travis Hunter to a player who is doing something that hasn’t been accomplished in sports since Babe Ruth was pulling double duty more than 100 years ago says something about the skill, endurance, and sheer will the Colorado product possesses. So when it comes to Hunter playing wide receiver AND defensive back in the NFL, the only way to find a comp on him is the other sports unicorn: Shohei Ohtani.

Thor Nystrom breaks down Hunter’s scouting profile leading up to the NFL Draft, and part of it sounds like stories of Paul Bunyan. They’re very much true, and he very well might be the best WR and DB in this draft class. Read on. ⬇️

TRAVIS HUNTER ROOKIE SCOUTING PROFILE