Five red flags for top prospects in 2025 NFL Draft

Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter | Doing too much

Hunter insists he’ll play offense and defense in the NFL, saying he’d rather quit than concentrate on one side of the ball. 

“It's never playing football again,” he told CBS Sports. "Because I've been doing it my whole life, and I love being on the football field.”

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound phenom may be the best cornerback and wide receiver in the draft, but playing both positions at the next level will be difficult. The average NFL team plays roughly 63 snaps per game on each side of the ball. 

Hunter averaged 114.1 snaps per contest in two years with Colorado but each regular season had only 12 games. As talented as he is, it’s hard to imagine he’d have the time or energy to concentrate on two positions over a 17-game schedule.

Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders | Daddy issues

Sanders threw 123 touchdowns at Trinity Christian High School, 70 at Jackson State and 64 with Colorado. His coach at all three schools? His father, former NFL cornerback Deion Sanders.

How receptive Sanders will be to NFL coaching remains to be seen. How will he handle criticism from a first-year head coach like the Saints’ Kellen Moore, for example? More importantly, how would a veteran coach like Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin handle an unproven player that carries himself in the same boastful manner as his Hall of Fame father?

There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance and a coach typically helps the player find balance. That said, it’s fair to wonder how Sanders’ act will play in an NFL locker room that isn’t controlled by a member of his family.

Miami QB Cam Ward | A late bloomer

Ward is the first quarterback in NCAA history to pass for over 150 touchdowns in a career and is the NCAA Division I all-time leader in career passing touchdowns with 158, but not all of his stats came against FBS teams.

From 2020-2021, Ward played quarterback for Incarnate Word, a member of the Southland Conference and part of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). 

Ward made 38 starts for Washington State and Miami from 2022-24 but started his college career playing teams like Houston Christian and Sam Houston State. Something to consider when evaluating Ward’s numbers.