If patriots lose out, Travis Hunter could be theirs

[KCSVEN]

BPA.

If Hunter is that guy, they should pick him.

From watching Colorado play, he's good at finding holes in zones which is always a problem for college WRs going to the NFL. @KCSVEN can speak more of this whether this is the case or not, but it's a skill that's critrical in the NFL.

Also the guy loves to compete and has A+ athleticism.

You are 100% right!
That's what sold me on him.
If he had a better QB, his stats would be much better, Sanders does not see the field well and when he moves, he doesn't do a good job of looking downfield. Hunter is great on a scramble drill for just this reason, he finds open space. In the Cincy game he had 9 catches, should have had 15 if Sanders could see the field like Maye.

In the all-22 tape from the Cincy game, there were a couple plays where he saw things that I didn't see ahead of time on the all-22. I'd be looking at his route and thinking, he should probably go this way, but realistically that would bring him to a tight window opening but looked like the best option and he would then take a turn another direction and gets himself wide open. You just don't see that knack from many in college. Nabers had that. MHJ and Odunze did not. Lee Evans is great at that. Tet is not.

He understands spacing with the other receivers as well.

That's one of the reasons I have him ranked behind Nabers (played better competition in college and is heavier) but ahead of anyone else from 2024. Not even counting playing him as a DB on 3rd down,

People have mentioned his 4.0 GPA which means he is intelligent, but NFL FOOTBALL smart and book smart are not always the same. Watching his tape he is football smart. Him and Maye share a similar football brain, football is easy for them, they just get it and see things most don't and can process it in real time. It's a special talent. For Hunter it works as a DB as well. I think it would lead to him making more picks but also occasionally getting burned. Just inherently more risk as a DB to anticipate what the QB is going to do than as a receiver.

 

[ViperGTS]

Is Hunter this years versions of Harrison Jr? If so, hard pass. I haven't watched much CFB this year to know about it.

 

[Peachhead]

I think we need to trade down to 12-20 or so and take an LT. Some team is going to want to come up for Hunter. Drafting Hunter right now would be like getting a sweet hood ornament on a beat up 2004 minivan with 250K miles on it. We may not get a King's Ransom like in other years. But any profit is a profit. Will Campbell & Kelvin Banks don't do it for me. I really like Aireontae Ersery (Minnesota), but Wyatt Milum (West Virginia) is a good contingency plan.

 

[lancerman]

I think we need to trade down to 12-20 or so and take an LT. Some team is going to want to come up for Hunter. Drafting Hunter right now would be like getting a sweet hood ornament on a beat up 2004 minivan with 250K miles on it. We may not get a King's Ransom like in other years. But any profit is a profit. Will Campbell & Kelvin Banks don't do it for me. I really like Aireontae Ersery (Minnesota), but Wyatt Milum (West Virginia) is a good contingency plan.

A team at 3 should not trade down to 12-20. They should trade down to like 6 or 7 and still get one of the top players in the draft.

 

[Rob0729]

Is Hunter this years versions of Harrison Jr? If so, hard pass. I haven't watched much CFB this year to know about it.

Harrison was supposed to be a generational talent and so far he has been mid. People thought the guy was can't miss. Yet, the guy can't get open even against lesser CBs than Gonzalez.

 

[ViperGTS]

A team at 3 should not trade down to 12-20. They should trade down to like 6 or 7 and still get one of the top players in the draft.

Aren't the players @12-20 the same as the players at 6-7 this year?

 

[javajunky]

Hunter is the safest pick in the draft, only injury can prevent him from being a perennial all pro. Like Maye, he thinks like an all pro NFL player and has the body to make it happen. The Pats have only two consistent playmakers in Maye and Gonzo. I'll take this third please. Everyone should stop obsessing with holes, we are not good enough to worry about them yet.

 

[lancerman]

Harrison was supposed to be a generational talent and so far he has been mid. People thought the guy was can't miss. Yet, the guy can't get open even against lesser CBs than Gonzalez.

I mean he's good. He's also a rookie. You can pretty much see that if he works on a couple of things he's going to be a stud for years to come.

 

[KCSVEN]

Respectfully, why is Tet McMillan not on the list. Not talking about the order but why is his chance of success less than 50% ?

I've found the #1 skill that translates is separation (especially against press coverage), his separation numbers are not good. That's really the biggest reason.
I start with the fact that 50% of first rounders fail, and then move onto what makes each position successful, what translates from college. With receiver you start with separation. If they are good at that, and rated a first-round receiver by most analysts, they are above 50% success rate probability.

His route running is not very precise, his releases are not great. He Has a great catch radius, excellent hands and uses his big body to ward off DB's. He is only a 4.50 40 time, slow for a #1 receiver, though when he gets to top speed he can move better than his 40 time would indicate. He's a top red zone threat due to his size, hands and vertical, I think he'll have success there right away.

Against good corners I think they can out physical him at the line and jump his routes so he can't box them out. Lee Evans is top 5 in separation almost every year and ran a 4.39 40, so the comparison to Tet is based on size alone. He's not Evans.

He is, to me, a poor man's MHJ, and you see how MHJ has struggled to separate all year at the NFL level and MHJ is more talented at a similar size.
I worry whether Tet can overcome his 3 main issues: separation, release, and speed.

 

[lancerman]

Hunter is the safest pick in the draft, only injury can prevent him from being a perennial all pro. Like Maye, he thinks like an all pro NFL player and has the body to make it happen. The Pats have only two consistent playmakers in Maye and Gonzo. I'll take this third please. Everyone should stop obsessing with holes, we are not good enough to worry about them yet.

When offense has been an issue for 6 years and we start going defense with the best picks we have, it's worth worrying about. CB is way down the list of things the Pats need.

People should look at what our defense is. We are a worse run defense than a pass defense. When we do lose in the pass game, it's almost always in the second level against linebackers in mismatches. Just on defense alone we need pass rushers and linebackers much more than CB's. And even in the secondary I'd argue safety is a bigger concern.

And that's ignoring that we've had the 32nd and 31st offense the last two years and it's a much bigger weakness. We have the worst offensive line in the league and the worst receiver corp.

 

[KCSVEN]

Is Hunter this years versions of Harrison Jr? If so, hard pass. I haven't watched much CFB this year to know about it.

No, MHJ had separation issues in college, Hunter has good separation. IMO Hunter is better than MHJ.

Hunter should be drafted as a WR and play CB on 3rd downs.

 

[lancerman]

No, MHJ had separation issues in college, Hunter has good separation. IMO Hunter is better than MHJ.

Hunter should be drafted as a WR and play CB on 3rd downs.

Nobody gadget CB.

 

[KCSVEN]

Too bad, I thought teams may drive him up the draft board and open up more teams willing to trade up. In the event Hunter is not available. I thought he might make it up to the Ward and Sanders area after his workouts.

 

[KCSVEN]

Nobody gadget CB.

He'd be your 2nd best CB and your best wr but he can't play full time both.
He's a playmaker, exactly what you want when teams are passing on 3rd down. It's not a gadget he's a pro bowl level talent at CB.

 

[Rob0729]

I mean he's good. He's also a rookie. You can pretty much see that if he works on a couple of things he's going to be a stud for years to come.

He has been good for a rookie, not for a guy who supposed to be a generational talent. I mean Brian Thomas, Malik Nabers, and Ladd McConkey are outshining Harrison by a lot. And you cannot even argue it is the QB throwing to them because Thomas has had the combination of Lawrence and Mac Jones, both playing poorly this year, and Nabers has Daniel Jones and whatever garbage replaced him.

He could very well turn it around and become that generational talent, but he is shaping up to be the third or fourth best WR of this class. That isn't screaming generational talent. It is really early, but he is starting to look more like a mid to late first round talent than an once in a generation player.

 

[condon84]

You are 100% right!
That's what sold me on him.
If he had a better QB, his stats would be much better, Sanders does not see the field well and when he moves, he doesn't do a good job of looking downfield. Hunter is great on a scramble drill for just this reason, he finds open space. In the Cincy game he had 9 catches, should have had 15 if Sanders could see the field like Maye.

In the all-22 tape from the Cincy game, there were a couple plays where he saw things that I didn't see ahead of time on the all-22. I'd be looking at his route and thinking, he should probably go this way, but realistically that would bring him to a tight window opening but looked like the best option and he would then take a turn another direction and gets himself wide open. You just don't see that knack from many in college. Nabers had that. MHJ and Odunze did not. Lee Evans is great at that. Tet is not.

He understands spacing with the other receivers as well.

That's one of the reasons I have him ranked behind Nabers (played better competition in college and is heavier) but ahead of anyone else from 2024. Not even counting playing him as a DB on 3rd down,

People have mentioned his 4.0 GPA which means he is intelligent, but NFL FOOTBALL smart and book smart are not always the same. Watching his tape he is football smart. Him and Maye share a similar football brain, football is easy for them, they just get it and see things most don't and can process it in real time. It's a special talent. For Hunter it works as a DB as well. I think it would lead to him making more picks but also occasionally getting burned. Just inherently more risk as a DB to anticipate what the QB is going to do than as a receiver.

How is his top end speed? Most of the catches I see from him are from scramble drills like you mentioned and they are more in the intermediate and short areas. Do you think he has the top end speed to threaten the deep end?

 

[lancerman]

He'd be your 2nd best CB and your best wr but he can't play full time both.
He's a playmaker, exactly what you want when teams are passing on 3rd down. It's not a gadget he's a pro bowl level talent at CB.

And it would be malpractice to play him at WR over CB. He's legitimately a better CB. Like he could be a very good WR, but he has All Pro potential as a CB.

Any team that gets him is likely using him as a CB because that's where his ceiling is.

If Hunter was a pure WR and didn't play CB at all, he's not getting talked about as a 3rd overall pick. Honestly if he was a pure CB or WR his stock would drop significantly in either situation, but the general consensus is that he will be a CB full time and maybe do a few plays at WR.

 

[KCSVEN]

And it would be malpractice to play him at WR over CB. He's legitimately a better CB. Like he could be a very good WR, but he has All Pro potential as a CB.

Any team that gets him is likely using him as a CB because that's where his ceiling is.

I thought like you until I got a hold of some all-22 tape to watch. Potential All Pro WR, Potential All Pro CB.

So currently I'm not sure I agree with you and scouts that have thought this all along are starting to hedge now after watching him as a WR.
One scout said a shutdown CB is so hard to find so most teams would want him to be a CB and play him WR on 3rd down but then the same scout stated he thinks he might actually be a better WR in the NFL.

He's played CB in high school and college, played WR full time a year plus. His upside is way higher from where he is at as a receiver

Offense wins.
The 12th highest paid WR is paid more than the #1 CB.
Hunter will make more at WR, that will matter.

 

[KCSVEN]

How is his top end speed? Most of the catches I see from him are from scramble drills like you mentioned and they are more in the intermediate and short areas. Do you think he has the top end speed to threaten the deep end?

I believe so, not like Tyreek Hill but better than anybody the Pats have now.
He should run 4.38-4.39, Chase territory. Sanders can't throw deep; he's been wide open and underthrown by 5 yards. He's gotten deep a number of times but since the QB can't throw it deep with any consistent accuracy they just don't run deep plays on 1st reads very often.

 

[javajunky]

When offense has been an issue for 6 years and we start going defense with the best picks we have, it's worth worrying about. CB is way down the list of things the Pats need.

People should look at what our defense is. We are a worse run defense than a pass defense. When we do lose in the pass game, it's almost always in the second level against linebackers in mismatches. Just on defense alone we need pass rushers and linebackers much more than CB's. And even in the secondary I'd argue safety is a bigger concern.

And that's ignoring that we've had the 32nd and 31st offense the last two years and it's a much bigger weakness. We have the worst offensive line in the league and the worst receiver corp.

Last years draft is the obvious failure of this thinking. We should have been picking the best talent and not trying to fill holes. If we did that for the last three years, the team would be in a much better position right now. We are not a few spots short from a Super Bowl team, we are a team barren of talent. Trying to fill holes with this weak draft is a recipe for disaster. This is pick the blue chip player and some lottery ticket players draft. Outside the top ten, I'd rather trade the picks for players or future picks right now