NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The tone teams took in from Travis Hunter at the combine is that he’d prefer to play receiver if his game must be narrowed primarily to one position.
Most teams in play for him talked about finding ways to use him as both a cornerback and a receiver, and the overall buzz is that he will be more defense than offense, at least at the start.
Brian Callahan said the Titans would start him out at cornerback, while Andrew Berry of the Browns said Cleveland would look at him as a receiver to maximize his ball skills.
Hunter didn’t waver in his media session from his determination to be a one-of-a-kind, complete two-way player.
“They say nobody has ever done it the way I do it,” he said. “But I tell them I’m just different. I’m a different person.”
But I've been told by multiple people the feeling is if he’s going to be steered in one direction, the direction he wants to go is offense.
That shouldn’t be a surprise. There is more money in it.
The 2025 franchise tag for a receiver is $23.96 million while the number for a corner is $20.19. That’s not a huge difference. But the gap is trending bigger. Per Over the Cap, the projected 2026 franchise number jumps more dramatically for receivers – to $29.92 million – than for corners – to $22.42 million.
Hunter won’t necessarily be reliant on a franchise tag. But the number becomes a key baseline in negotiations for second contracts, whether they come early or not. If a player fulfills the four years of his rookie deal and a 
fifth-year option, teams have the option of retaining them with the tag.
A franchise tag is the average of the top five salaries at a player's position over the last five seasons.
When Justin Jefferson re-signed with the Vikings last summer, he got an annual average of $35 million, with an annual guaranteed average of $22.2 million, both tops for NFL receivers per Over the Cap.
At corner, Jalen Ramsey has the highest annual average salary at $24.1 million, while L’Jarius Sneed’s average annual guaranteed of $11 million is highest among corners.
Hunter is expected to go in the first four picks, likely not getting past New England at No. 4.
