Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram would draft Travis Hunter No. 1 overall for hypothetical expansion team

Urban Meyer has no doubt in his mind that if he were picking a player from the 2025 NFL Draft class to start a team with, it would be Travis Hunter. The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner and two-way star at Colorado is projected in most mock drafts as a top five pick, but not typically first overall.

But while others might opt to take a quarterback or even highly touted edge rusher Abdul Carter, Meyer believes there’s no sure bet like Hunter. He also gives teams an option of whether to use him as a receiver, defensive back or, even better, both.

“I’m taking Travis Hunter,” Meyer said on The Triple Option podcast. “I just think, in my lifetime, very few can do what he can do. I stood next to the guy. I watched him. Obviously, we covered him quite a bit. I probably would play him both ways and invest in that guy. He’s a good person.

“He’s got a good skillset that not many — that can do both (offense and defense)? I don’t know that I’ve every seen a guy at that level do that. There’s something about him when he plays 170 plays and his 168th on offense is blocking down the field with the same energy that he did on play 16.”

Hunter rose to national attention while playing for Deion Sanders the past two seasons at Colorado. Sanders also played two positions in college and even some in the pros, so he had a unique perspective to offer Hunter as he helped his development along.

Hunter put up unseen numbers this past season as he finished with 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns, which led the Big 12. That would be impressive enough on its own without account for his defensive stats. He also had 36 tackles, four interceptions and 11 passes defended.

The Buffaloes also had their most successful season in nearly a decade to finish 9-4 in large part due to Hunter. If that’s the kind of impact he can have at the college level, one would think he could possibly do the same for a pro team.

There doesn’t seem to be a better candidate in this draft for superstardom that Hunter, and he’d clearly be a great player to build a team around. He may or may not go No. 1 overall in reality, but Meyer certainly wouldn’t let him fall if it were his choice.