How Travon Walker Has Helped Josh Hines-Allen’s Production

Prognosticators have concerns about the Jaguars’ defense, which ranked 31st in the NFL last season. But they have absolutely no concerns about Josh Hines-Allen.

Neither does his teammate on the other side of the Jaguars’ new-look defense, Travon Walker. Now in his fourth NFL season, Walker said the two edge rushers are operating more efficiently than ever.

“Most definitely,” Walker said after Thursday’s training-camp practice. “I talked about this my rookie year and years after that, too, just knowing who's on the other side of you and knowing who's on the inside of you. What type of rusher is he? What type of rusher am I? That's where times like this during camp, you all come together as far as communication.”

Their communication to NFL offensive coordinators has been definitive. In three years together, they’ve already combined for 56½ sacks, including Hines-Allen’s single-season franchise record 17½ in 2023. That means if the Jaguars’ duo can get a little more help this year, either from Maason Smith and DaVon Hamilton on the inside, or free-agent additions Dawuane Smoot and Emmanuel Ogbah on the outside, more records could fall. The team’s franchise record is 57 sacks in 1999.

Like a pair of wolves stalking their prey, Walker said he and Hines-Allen are firmly on the same page.

“Is he taking a high rush?” Walker said. “Should I take a low rush when he takes his high rush? We’ve all been on the same accord, especially up front. Within that box, we all have to be on one accord especially, No. 1, when it comes to the run game.

“Everybody has a job to do on every single play, and that's in the run or pass. So, just playing with him for going on four years now, I feel like I know him as a player, and we work together very well.”

Hines-Allen has played very well since the Jaguars drafted Walker No. 1 overall in 2022. NFL players voted Hines-Allen No. 63 on the league’s annual top-100 list, and according to The 33rd Team, he’s one of just three players with at least 200 quarterback pressures and three-plus takeaways in the last three seasons. Only Micah Parsons and Nick Bosa have done that.

And since the beginning of 2023, when Walker posted 10 sacks, Hines-Allen has the NFL’s sixth-highest pressure rate (15.9 percent) among players with 800-or-more pass-rushing snaps. Only Parsons (19.7 percent), Bosa (18.0), Myles Garrett (17.6), Trey Hendrickson (17.4) and Za’Darius Smith (16.4) have better pressure rates over the last two seasons.

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