The release of Madden 26 is drawing near, and fans are looking ahead to what to expect from the game. With new additions and updates to rosters infamously often among the biggest changes each year, this edition brings a particularly interesting addition to the player database in the form of two-way college superstar Travis Hunter. With the new Jaguar ready to take on the NFL, here’s what to expect from him in this year’s Madden.
Who is Travis Hunter?
Travis Hunter is a player for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who selected him second overall in this year’s NFL draft. Hunter became the first five-star recruit to commit to an HBCU when he joined Deion Sanders at Jackson State University, before following Sanders to Colorado for the last two years of his college career.
Henry is a unique player in that he maintained a two-way playing style up to the highest levels of the sport, having played both wide receiver and cornerback for Colorado. This past season, Hunter captured the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s top collegiate player. While there was speculation about his use in the pros, Hunter expressed his desire to remain a two-way player, and the Jaguars appear to be onboard.
What remains to be seen is just how the Jags incorporate that toolset into their plans, though early indications are he will be an offensive player first. While there will be a lot of talk about the issue, we won’t truly know what’s real and what’s a smoke screen until the season arrives. That puts EA developers in a tricky situation, as they try to replicate a player we have not only not seen as a pro but also aren’t entirely sure of his exact role once the season starts.
How Did EA Handle Travis Hunter In EA Sports College Football 25?
Simply put, Travis Hunter is one of the best players the game has ever featured on rating. As Hunter continued to tear things up on the real-world field en route to his Heisman Trophy, his College Football 25 representation was equally as impressive. In fact, after winning the award, he also became the game’s first 99-rated player. On both sides of the ball.
Offensively, Hunter was an unstoppable weapon at wideout. With 95 Speed and 99 Acceleration he was capable of nuking most defenders for speed on deep routes. He also carried 97 Jumping for getting floated balls under contested coverage and 99 Awareness to make the best reads and breaks on the ball as he plays.
Defensively, Hunter could fill in wherever you need him. Not only was his final form capable of being a 99 cornerback, his primary defensive position, he could be a dominant force anywhere in your secondary, with 99 ratings for both free and strong safety. With a 99 in Man, Zone and Press Coverage, 96 Catching and high physical stats he is capable of closing fast, breaking up passes or making interceptions to get the ball in his dangerous hands.
Have There Been Two-Way Video Game Players in the Past?
Very fittingly, the most relevant example is that of Hunter’s coach and mentor Deion Sanders. An electric two-way, two-sport athlete, he has seen his digital representations show up as legends to wreak havoc on both sides of the ball in the same positions as Hunter. In other sports, Shohei Ohtani’s brilliance led to The Show’s need to incorporate his two-way dominance.
While there have not been a lot of players with two-way roles in video games to go off, Hunter is far from the first challenging athlete to translate to the virtual world. Versions of Michael Vick have bordered on unplayable, a tradition that goes back to early NES action and two-sport star Bo Jackson cutting up the Tecmo Super Bowl field. At least his skills are clear and easy to translate to attributes, so he won’t have to worry about ending up like poor Thomas Muller, always underwhelming compared to his real world self.
How Will EA Represent Travis Hunter In Madden 26?
Bringing Hunter into EA’s pro franchise will be a challenge but with some experience from the college edition it will be intriguing to see how he translates. It’s a safe bet to assume he will be highly rated among his young peers, however there may also be some limiting factors preventing him from challenging for the highest total rating his rookie year:
- Pro competition: The most obvious jump up is in the level of players on the field. Even the most stacked college rosters are full of players who will never sniff an NFL roster, so some of Hunter’s attributes will go down by default just by translating to the higher grading curve of the NFL.
- Pro playbooks: Another consideration is the more complicated schemes used in NFL offenses and defenses. On an attribute level, this may show up in a lowering of some mental stats. It also creates an interesting test for designers when building a playbook for the Jaguars to include plays which take advantage of Hunter’s unique talents.
- Scheme usage: Because we are not yet sure how the Jaguars will be using Hunter, we can’t be positive how that will impact his rating in the new Madden. EA will no doubt be monitoring news out of Jaguars offseason work, and it would not be a surprise for some of the in-season updates to also affect him and his ratings.
So, overall Hunter is a highly interesting player and may well go down as one of the more fun players to use in the next Madden. His two-way play is a unique twist, and his physical tools are ones which often translate well to video games. What do you think of digital Travis Hunter? Will he be a star?
