New England Patriots fans can only dream at the moment of Travis Hunter being on the end of touchdown passes from Drake Maye.
But Hunter can envision it, too.
The Patriots currently are in range to land Hunter in April’s NFL draft — New England currently holds the No. 3 overall pick heading into Sunday’s slate — as they are in need of a No. 1 wide receiver. Hunter certainly would create a nice tandem with Maye, who showed plenty of promise throughout his rookie season.
Hunter certainly seemed to approve of the pairing while answering a fan question as he livestreamed himself playing video games on Thursday.
“Trav and Drake Maye? That’d be tough,” Hunter said, per Sports Illustrated.
Hunter is one of the most talented, and intriguing, prospects in the upcoming draft. Not only is the 21-year-old a game-changing wideout, he’s also a ball-hawking cornerback. It’s unclear if he’ll play two ways in the NFL or what side of the ball he would specialize in.
He excelled at both positions with the Colorado Buffaloes the past two seasons. Hunter, who caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns to go along with four interceptions this season, was named a Heisman finalist and on Thursday walked away with the Chuck Bednarik Award and Fred Biletnikoff Award for college football’s defensive player of the year and wide receiver of the year, respectively.
Hunter would fill a glaring need for the Patriots, who got almost nothing out of the two wide receivers — Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker — they drafted in 2023. But if New England remains with the third pick, Hunter might not be on the board at that time with one scout stating “Hunter is the only guy this year who would have been a top-10 pick last year — probably in most years.”
And if that happens, any thoughts of a Maye-Hunter connection would go right out the window.
