PHILADELPHIA - There is a give and take for being the Super Bowl champions.
With the NFL Draft, there’s the burden of staring behind everyone else at No. 32 in the first round, a penalty the Philadelphia Eagles will gladly pay in the shadow of the franchise’s second Lombardi Trophy.
One of the players far out of the Eagles’ sights is the resigning Heisman Trophy winner: Colorado two-way difference maker Travis Hunter.
A sure bet to be in the top 10 and far more likely in the top five, Hunter has the skills to excel at ride receiver and/or cornerback, something that took NFL Network’s lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah to Philadelphia for a proper comp.
And Jeremiah needed two Eagles players to get it done.
“Travis Hunter is like someone went to the Philadelphia Eagles and took Devonta Smith and Darius Slay and spun him around in a circle and they came out as the same human being,” Jeremiah told reporters on his annual pre-combine conference call. “He's unique.”
Jeremiah has Hunter as the No. 2 overall prospect on his big board behind only Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, honing in on the offensive side of the football for Hunter.
Hunter has a narrow frame but is a very smooth player, the part of his package that conjures up Smith, also a former Heisman winner at Alabama.
Like the undersized Eagles’ star, Hunter is also creative with his releases to get off press coverage and has the ability to power up or down to keep defenders a step behind.
Maybe the more impressive part with Hunter is the defensive comparison to Slay, a six-time Pro Bowl selection who plans to play a 13th NFL season in 2025.
Slay has made himself into one of the savviest cornerbacks in football well into his 30s with discipline and top-tier technique. Jeremiah believes Hunter is way ahead of the curve in those aspects of the game that come only with experience for most cornerbacks.
Earlier in the 2024 season, a reporter asked Saquon Barkley if the Eagles showed any interest in the superstar running back in 2018 when Barkley was selected at No. 2 overall months after Philadelphia had won Super Bowl LII.
The superstar couldn’t help but chuckle.
"My draft process was kinda different I guess. I was viewed to be a high pick so a lot of those conversations were ‘Yep, we're not gonna be able to get you,” Barkley smiled.
Similar conversations will be had with many teams who won’t be in a position to get Hunter this season, including the Eagles.
