Travis Hunter Rises, Shedeur Sanders’ Falls in Field Yates’ 2025 NFL Draft Rankings

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Adam Wells November 29, 2024

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Going into the last full week of the college football regular season, ESPN’s Field Yates has updated his top 25 prospects for the 2025 NFL draft with a new player atop the list.

Colorado’s Travis Hunter has ascended to the No. 1 overall spot amid his quest for the Heisman Trophy.

On the quarterback front, Hunter’s teammate Shedeur Sanders’ stock has taken a hit. He is all the way down at No. 14 overall, but the only knock on him cited by Yates is his limited arm strength.

In the original rankings from Yates released in August, Sanders was the No. 2 quarterback and No. 7 overall player. Hunter checked in on the list at No. 9 overall.

Yates’ explanation for putting Hunter in the top spot was built around him being “the best player in college football this season” because of his ability to play at a high level on both sides of the ball:

“I expect that Hunter will want to play both positions at the NFL level, and while there was a time earlier in the process when I was dubious that would become a reality, I’m now looking at him as a two-way player at the next level, at least in some capacity. On offense, Hunter glides through his routes and shows exceptional hands. On defense, he is instinctive and always seems to find the football.”

Hunter entered Friday’s regular-season finale against Oklahoma State tied for fifth in FBS in receptions (82), tied for third in touchdown catches (11) and seventh in receiving yards (1,036). He has done that while also contributing three interceptions on defense.

Sanders is having a standout season in his own right. The senior standout ranks tied for second in FBS in touchdown passes (30), third in completion percentage (73.4) and fifth in passing yards (3,488).

B/R’s NFL scouting department praised Sanders for being “one of the purest passers from the pocket in college football and the NFL Draft class.”

The main drawback to Sanders looking ahead to the NFL is that he has a tendency to hold onto the ball too long while trying to make plays.

Despite dropping seven spots … Read More