2022 NFL Draft Profiles: Should the Jaguars Consider Georgia's Travon Walker at No. 1?
The 2022 NFL Draft season is upon us.
Among the 32 teams building their rosters to compete for the next Lombardi Trophy is the Jacksonville Jaguars, who hold 12 picks in this season’s draft -- including the No. 1 overall pick. The Jaguars are entering a new era after the Urban Meyer tenure, making this draft as pivotal as one could imagine.
As we march closer and closer to April’s draft, we will look at individual draft prospects and how they would potentially fit with the Jaguars. Instead of looking at any negatives, we are going to look at what the players do well and if they could match what the Jaguars need at the specific role or position.
In our next prospect breakdown, we take a look at Georgia edge defender Travon Walker and whether he makes sense for the Jaguars at No. 1 overall.
Overview
Travon Walker stepped onto Georgia's campus with high expectations and the athletic marvel met them throughout his college career. Ranked a five-star recruit by 247Sports, Walker was the No. 22 ranked prospect in the nation in the 2019 recruiting class. The No. 2 prospect in the state of Georgia, Walker was the country's No. 3 defensive tackle and is considered a top-435 prospect in 247Sports' history. Walker committed to Georgia over offers from Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Clemson.
Walker had a successful first season at Georgia, earning Freshman All-SEC honors in 2019 as he was named a co-winner of Georgia's Defensive Newcomer of the Year award. In 12 games, Walker finished with 2.5 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and one pass deflection while also contributing on kickoff coverage units.
In 2020, Walker played in nine games and recorded 1.0 sack, 2.0 tackles for loss, one interception, and one forced fumble. Walker then had a career season in 2021, starting all 15 games as Georgia finished the year as National Champions. During Georgia's title run, Walker recorded 6.0 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, two pass deflections, one fumble recovery, and a team-high 36 quarterback hurries.
Walker then had arguably the best combine performance of any defensive player in 2021, measuring at 6-foot-5 and 272 pounds but still running a 4.51 40-yard dash (98th percentile), a 36-inch vertical jump (80th percentile), 123-inch broad jump (87th percentile), 6.89-second three-cone (93rd percentile), and a 4.32 20-yard shuttle (76th percentile).
What Travon Walker Does Well
After being listed as a 290-pound interior lineman during his freshman season, Walker shed a decent amount of weight and looked much more like a prototypical power edge during his final season at Georgia. From a height/weight/speed perspective and simply looking at his length and frame, Walker has every physical tool you could want from a defensive lineman.
Georgia knew this as well as anyone and made sure to use it to their advantage. Walker played a plethora of roles for Georgia's defense, standing up as a rush linebacker in 3-4 looks, dropping into coverage, playing 5, 6, and 4i-techniques and even being used as an interior rusher who stood or lined up directly over the center. Walker has the burst, size, strength, and length to really be lined up anywhere on the defensive line and cause havoc and that is exactly how Georgia used him.
Walker's athleticism is clear in nearly every aspect of his game. He has an explosive first step that is able to propel him upfield and put offensive tackles and guards at a disadvantage right off the snap, while also showing good flexibility, bend and burst around the edge for a pass-rusher of his stature. Walker's movement skills are on clear display on stunts and twists as well, with his change of direction and lateral explosion being second to none.
As a pass-rusher, Walker is a fairly raw prospect but one who is still able to make plays thanks to his high motor, physical gifts and an intimidating blend of length and strength. Walker needs to improve his hand usage, but his long-arm rushes and bullrushes succeeded time and time again at the college level, with Walker showing terrific power behind his hands.
Run defending is where Walker truly shines today. He does a terrific job of locking offensive tackles out with his length and then identifying the ball-carrier and concept. He can control blocks with his upper body before quickly shedding and closing on ball carriers, showing good movement ability in space. He won as a run-defender from several alignments and should be considered a high-floor run stuffer early in his career.
How Travon Walker Would Fit With the Jaguars
This is an interesting question because where Walker is going to play at the next level is still a serious and legitimate question. Walker has tweener traits to a degree because he has the frame to both play on the edge and on the interior defensive line, with 5-technique perhaps being his best overall fit. Ultimately, where Walker fits at the next level will depend on what path of development his team deems best for him.
For the Jaguars specifically, Walker does seem like a player who the team would be interested in lining up all over the defensive line. A big part of the appeal to Walker and why his ceiling is so high is because he is a rare athlete who can win against both offensive tackles and offensive guards. For the Jaguars to take him at No. 1 and limit him to purely an edge rushing position would seem misguided based on his skill set.
What the Jaguars need are simply more pass-rushers overall, but they should especially prioritize their edge rush. Currently they have Josh Allen, Dawuane Smoot and K'Lavon Chaisson at the position. The first two are entering the final year of their deals and Chaisson is a draft bust with two career sacks. In short, the Jaguars need to bolster their edge rush more than their interior rush.
Does Walker make sense from this perspective? He still has miles and miles to go as a pass-rusher from a technique perspective to consistently win on the edge in the NFL, but he has the athletic traits and play-style that suggests he has the potential to win in that fashion. With that said, it is important to remember that it is just potential at this point.
Verdict
It is hard for me to blame a team for having a top-5/top-10 grade on Walker based on his potential. If a team believes he can be a plus-version of Rashan Gary, who entered the NFL as a raw tweener and has since become a dangerous edge rusher, then he is worth the pick.
The Jaguars, though, need more of a sure thing at No. 1 overall. Walker has a higher ceiling than Aidan Hutchinson and offers much more down to down versatility, but his floor as a pass-rusher is significantly lower. The Jaguars need to hit a home run at No. 1, and Walker simply provides too much risk at this point to be the pick.
For all of our 2022 NFL Draft profiles, click below.
