Deion Sanders Threatens to Pull Out Travis Hunter From Draft as Coach Prime Ignores Julian Edelman’s Advice
For Deion Sanders, his stint as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes has started giving results. His WR and CB, Travis Hunter, won the 2024 Heisman Trophy. He is special, given his dual qualities in both offense and defense. And everyone is excited to see how he enters the 2025 NFL Draft. The HC also had advice for the teams interested in the prospect.
During his appearance on the December 20 episode of The Rich Eisen Show, Coach Prime said, “I’m going to make sure that you don’t draft him if you’re not going to give him an opportunity to play on both sides of the ball. Now you could be creative; he doesn’t have to do what we did with him here and play every snap, but he’s going to just say he’s starting the corner. He’s G to be; he’s going to have to be on your U nickel packages or whatever or spread PR packages on the offense because he’s going to be probably your best receiver.” Now that’s strong advice.
Travis Hunter showed during 2 seasons with the Buffaloes and 1 year with Jackson State that he was strong in both areas of the game. In 29 games, he recorded 167 receptions for 2,067 receiving yards with 23 touchdowns. In defense too, he had 81 tackles (58 solo) with 9 interceptions for 99 yards and 1 touchdown. That’s impressive.
He also threatened the teams who want to draft him but don’t want to play him. And claimed that he wouldn’t play if that didn’t happen, saying, “It’s abundantly clear that this is what he wants; this is who he is, and it is not going to work unless you entertain this and give him an assurance that this is what’s going to happen.” That’s a tough one, considering he is a rookie. And giving an assurance without seeing how he would do in the world’s toughest league is not a simple task.
Clearly, the Buffaloes coach is guiding his star player through his experience. That’s his responsibility. But they are ignoring any other advice.
During the December 14 episode of Dudes on Dudes, his former teammate Rob Gronkowski asked Edelman about the preferred position for the draft. He replied, “If I were him, I’d go defense because those corners get paid a lot of money. And then they’d probably give you a package on offense. You know, a gimmick package where we need to get some spark.” But Travis Hunter is going his own way. He doesn’t want to be restricted only as a cornerback.
Even if we compare the financials, the receivers earn more than the cornerbacks. They are the most-paid position on the gridiron. While the Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey, the highest-paid CB in the league, earns $24.1 per year, the Vikings WR, Justin Jefferson earns $35 million annually, making him the highest-paid WR in the NFL. That’s a staggering $11 million difference.
This might be one of the reasons he wants to play both positions. It gives him an advantage of earning big money, along with a place in the lineup. Deion Sanders is helping him navigate his path in the league.
