Jaguars choose Travan Walker at number 1. Here’s what they get
Luke Easterling tells how Travon Walker fits in with the Jacksonville Jaguars and describes the ceiling and floor as a perspective.
SportsPulse, USA TODAY
Travan Walker’s rapid rise in the 2022 NFL Draft led him to first place overall.
The Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday selected Walker, Georgia’s defensive line, with overall No. 1 in the first round.
The Jaguars, choosing to lead the draft for the second year in a row after taking quarterback Trevor Lawrence in 2021, have been deciding between four players since last week, said general manager Trent Baalke. But the team’s move on Wednesday to sign a 3-year extension of a left-handed game with branded franchise Cam Robinson meant the Jaguars were probably in the pass market.
For most of the pre-draft process, Michigan defender Aiden Hutchinson was the alleged favorite, who was the first player to be selected. Last week, however, Walker became the popular betting favorite to be number one.
However, the Jaguars did not publicly withdraw their hand until NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the election in Las Vegas.
Walker said last week that he did not know where he would land in the draft, telling USA TODAY Sports: “I wish I knew.”
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The former five-star rookie enjoyed a sharp rise in his only season as a starter for Georgia, helping the school win its first national title since 1980. His shares appear to have risen further with a strong performance at the NFL Scout Factory in early March. . Weighing 6-5 and 272 pounds, Walker ran 4.51 seconds at 40 yards, finishing third among all defense points.
But Walker managed to make just 9 1/2 sacks in three seasons in Georgia, although he was given fewer opportunities for a quick attack than many of the other top prospects in defense. Hutchinson, meanwhile, recorded 14 sacks in 2021 alone, finishing as a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.
“I think when you look at both players, they are productive in their own way,” Baalke told a news conference before the projector, referring to Hutchinson and Walker. “[They’re] used differently, completely different schemes used differently under those schemes. “
However, Walker admitted that he could have been more productive during his career with the Bulldogs.
“I feel like I could take advantage of a lot more games on my own,” he said, adding that he had worked on his pass-rush technique in hopes of achieving better results at the next level.
In Jacksonville, Walker will be a vital building block for a franchise looking to reset after coach Urban Mayer was sacked in just 13 games in his first campaign. The Jaguars finished the year 3-14 and subsequently hired former Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson to take the reins of the team.
Walker will be equipped with the first round selection for 2019 and former Pro Bowl coach Josh Allen as the cornerstone of Jaguars’ pass. Jacksonville amassed just 32 sacks in 2021, tied for the NFL’s sixth-lowest total.
Moments after Walker’s election, the NFL Network reported that he was involved in a “serious car accident” in Athens, Georgia, before the draft.
According to the crash report received by USA TODAY Sports, Walker’s Dodge Durango swung a pair of parked cars near a student apartment complex near the University of Georgia campus shortly before 11 p.m. on April 16. issued, according to Athens-Clark County Police spokesman Sean Barnett.
Contribution: Tom Shad
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