Travis Hunter picked at number two in NFL Draft, first player in history announced at two positions and highest CU selection in 50 years

Updated at 7:07 a.m. on Friday April 25, 2025.

Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders broke records together at Jackson State University and the University of Colorado. Last week, they watched their jersey numbers retired together at Folsom Field.

But their professional paths diverged Thursday night, at least for the moment.

Hunter was the No. 2 pick of the 2025 NFL Draft after the Jacksonville Jaguars traded a wealth of picks to move up and take him. He is the first player to be announced at two positions on offense and defense, receiver and defensive back respectively. The choice marks a historic accomplishment for both Hunter and the Buffalo football program. The pick marks CU's highest selection in the NFL draft in 50 years.

“I'm super excited to go home,” said Hunter, whose hometown is Boynton Beach, Florida.

For Sanders, it was a different story. The son of CU's Coach Prime slid out of the first round and will likely have to wait until later Friday to learn where he will begin his pro career. The quarterback projected by some, including his father, as a top five pick, will be no higher than the third quarterback selected after the New York Giants traded for a second first-found pick to use it not on Sanders, but on Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart.

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The night was very different for Hunter, who won the Heisman trophy as college football’s top player and was considered by some as the best player in the draft. Hunter is going home to Florida, where he will attempt to make history by becoming the first player to consistently play both offense and defense (perhaps even special teams) in the modern NFL.

"They told me they was going to let me go out there and do what I do," Hunter said. "So (the Jaguars) put me on phone with both coordinators. I'm going to just go out there and just do what I could do."

The Denver Broncos surprised most analysts by taking Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron with the 20th pick. With one of the best corners in the league already on the roster in Patrick Surtain, the position was not a need for the Broncos. But Barron's athleticism and versatility proved too much to pass up.

Meanwhile, the smiles on the faces of both Hunter and his new employers seem unlikely to fade anytime soon.

“It was an awfully enjoyable moment in time," Jaguars' general manager James Gladstone said. “It's certainly one that I’ll remember and look forward to seeing the playback here in the coming minutes, hours, days that lie ahead, just so I can relive that.”

Jacksonville gave up four picks — including second- and fourth-rounders this year and their 2026 first-rounder — to land one of the most intriguing NFL prospects in draft history and set the tone for a new regime that features first-time Gladstone, first-time head coach Liam Coen and first-time executive vice president Tony Boselli.

Hunter wore a neon pink blazer and danced to the stage in Green Bay after the Jaguars selected him.

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He'll join franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Pro Bowl receiver Brian Thomas Jr. to create the core of Coen’s offense. The Jaguars envision him primarily as a receiver — he will start opposite Thomas and should give Lawrence another dynamic playmaker — but plan to have defensive packages for him.

Hunter told NFL teams he wants to play both sides of the ball as a pro. He excelled as both a receiver and defensive back for CU, recording multiple games with both a touchdown and an interception. He caught 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns while making 35 tackles, breaking up 11 passes and picking off four.

One of the last players to have success on both sides of the ball was CU head coach and NFL legend Deion “Prime Time” Sanders, whom Hunter says he wants to emulate.

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“There’s no pressure,” Hunter said. “There's no pressure for me. I just got to go out there and do my job, be Travis Hunter. They did everything they could to come get me. Now, I got to do everything I could to help win and help the organization, uplift them.”

“There are players that you can target and acquire who alter the trajectory of a game,” Gladstone said. “There are very few, and it’s rare to be able to target and prioritize a player who can alter the sport itself. And Travis is somebody that we view has the potential to do that.”

According to NFL.com’s Kabir Rao, Hunter averaged an FBS-high 111.5 snaps per game during his two seasons at Colorado.

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Before this year’s draft, only six Colorado players were taken in the Top 10: Byron “Whizzer” White (1938), Bo Matthews (1974), J.V. Cain (1974), Mark Haynes (1980), Michael Westbrook (1995), and Chris Naeole (1997).

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Top 10 NFL Team Draft Order going into Thursday:

1. Tennessee Titans
2. Cleveland Browns (traded the spot to Jacksonville)  
3. New York Giants
4. New England Patriots
5. Jacksonville Jaguars
6. Las Vegas Raiders
7. New York Jets
8. Carolina Panthers
9. New Orleans Saints
10. Chicago Bears

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An unexpected journey to the top

Hunter’s path to the NFL began with a shocker, before he even stepped foot on a college football field. As the number one high school football recruit in the country, he stunned the college football world by signing to Jackson State over Florida State. His reason for choosing the historically black university in Mississippi over a bigger school was to play on both sides of the ball like Sanders in the NFL.

After one season with the Tigers, Hunter followed Sanders to Boulder. There he became one of the greatest players to ever suit up for the Buffaloes. Hunter capped off his final year for CU with 96 receptions, 1,258 yards, and 15 touchdowns on the offense. On defense, he had 24 solo tackles and 4 interceptions.

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Hunter took home several prestigious awards on offense and defense. The Unanimously selected All-American collected the Chuck Bednarik Award, Fred Biletnikoff Award, Lott IMPACT Trophy, Walter Camp Award, a second Paul Hornung Award, and the most prestigious of all, the Heisman Trophy. 

Going into the draft, there were questions as to whether Hunter would be allowed to play on both sides of the ball in the NFL.

Hunter CU records: 

• Single-Season Receiving Touchdowns: 15
• Single-Season 100-yard Receiving Games: 8
• Consecutive 100-yard Receiving Games: 5
• Single-Game Receiving Touchdowns: 3
• Receptions in a Debut: 11

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The heir to Prime Time

Sanders, a four-star recruit who originally signed to play at Florida Atlantic, followed his father to Jackson State when the elder Sanders accepted the head coach position. 

In two seasons at JSU, he led the Tigers to two Southwestern Athletic Conference Championships and two appearances in the Celebration Bowl, which is considered the de facto national championship for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Sanders won SWAC Offensive Player of the Year and the Deacon Jones Trophy as the best player among HBCUs.

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Sanders continued his success at Colorado after following his father to Boulder. Despite a porous offensive line that saw him sacked 52 times, he completed almost 70 percent of his passes for 3,230, 27 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions in his first season in Boulder. The Buffaloes finished a 4-8 record as Coach Sanders attempted to turn around a decimated football program.

In 2024, Sanders led the team to a 9-4 record and trip to the Alamo Bowl. He completed 74 percent of his passes for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. That was good enough to win Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He also finished 8th in the Heisman voting.

Now Sanders waits, with analysts speculating he will be the first player taken in the second round of the draft, by the Cleveland Browns. The draft resumes Friday at 5 p.m. Mountain time.

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Sanders CU records

• Single-Season Passing Yards: 4,134 yards
• Single-Season Pass Completions: 353
• Single-Season Pass Attempts: 477
• Single-Season Pass Touchdowns: 37
• Single-Season Pass Completion Percentage: 74.0 percent
• Single-Season Quarterback Rating: 168.2
• Single-Season Touchdown-to-Interception Ratio: 9-to-1
• Single-Game Passing Yards: 510
• Single Game Completion Percentage with 30 or 40 Attempts: 80.9 percent

Sanders Jackson State records

• Single-Season Touchdown Passes: 40
• Single-Season Completions: 344
• Single-Season Completion Percentage: 70.5 percent