Tag: Travon Walker

In which 2023 games did each Jaguars defensive star shine brightest?

The Jaguars’ defense tailed off late in the year, but it still had some impressive moments in 2023.

Before the 2023 season began, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive unit was expected to be a weakness. But there were a handful of weeks when defense won the game for the Jaguars.

When Jacksonville was at its best en route to an 8-3 start to the year, the defense was a key piece to the team’s success. The Jaguars’ played well as a unit, but the players stepped up individually at different points throughout the season.

While the defense eventually came unraveled and struggled down the stretch, here were the best single-game performances for each of the Jaguars’ key defensive players during the 2023 season:

It sure sounds like new Jaguars DC Ryan Nielsen wants cornerback help

Was Ryan Nielsen’s press conference a hint that cornerback will be a top priority for the Jaguars this offseason?

In his first press conference, new Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen kept his cards close to the vest. Sure, he talked about his desire to build an “attacking and aggressive” defense, but there aren’t exactly coordinators talking about constructing a cordial, peaceful defense.

When asked a specific question about his vision for Travon Walker’s role, Nielsen only said “we’ll put our guys in the best positions for them to have success.”

But if there was a moment when Nielsen actually pulled back the curtain a bit, it was when he was asked about generating pressure on third down. While the Jaguars finished the 2023 season 25th in the NFL in sacks, it wasn’t the team’s pass rushers that Nielsen pointed to as the issue.

“The first thing we have to do is affect the quarterback in that we can’t allow the ball to come out of his hand quickly,” Nielsen said. “Then the rush doesn’t get there. If the coverage has holes in it or give an easy throw, it doesn’t matter who we’ve got coming off the edge. We’ve got a couple of good edge guys here. We have to get the quarterback to hold it.”

It seems Nielsen has no concern with Walker and Josh Allen getting to the quarterback. He’s instead focused on making sure the team’s defensive backs aren’t getting beat off the line of scrimmage.

Tyson Campbell struggled through injuries for much of the 2023 season, but has a good chance at being a cornerstone of the Jaguars defense moving forward. Darious Williams had a much better year than Campbell, but has a much murkier future in Jacksonville due mostly to an $11.5 million 2024 cap hit that could result in his release.

The rest of the Jaguars’ depth chart at cornerback consists of players they found late in the NFL draft (Gregory Junior, Montaric Brown, Christian Braswell, Erick Hallett) and undrafted free agency (Tre Herndon).

When the Jaguars hunted for talent at the midseason trade deadline, cornerback was one of the spots they considered to be most in need of a boost before eventually addressing the offensive line instead.

There’s no doubt that the team’s lackluster pass rushing depth is an issue. Nielsen has seemingly identified the team’s cornerbacks as the higher priority, though.

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5 takeaways from new Jaguars DC Ryan Nielsen’s first press conference

New defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen says the Jaguars will have an “attacking, aggressive” defense in 2024.

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen introduced himself to Duval on Thursday in his first press conference since accepting the job in January.

Nielsen, 44, has been tasked with lifting up a Jaguars defense that finished the 2023 season No. 22 in yards allowed and No. 17 in points allowed.

Prior to arriving in Jacksonville, Nielsen spent the 2023 season as the defensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons and the six seasons prior on the coaching staff of the New Orleans Saints. In his sole season in Atlanta, the team finished No. 11 in yards allowed, a massive improvement from its No. 27 finish in 2022.

On Thursday, Nielsen offered a few glimpses at what he’s planning for the Jaguars defense to look like in 2024. Here are five of the most interesting nuggets from his first press conference:

Brock Bowers: Travon Walker was ‘freakiest’ teammate at Georgia

Brock Bowers says it was “awful” taking reps against Travon Walker in practice at Georgia.

Brock Bowers played with a lot of spectacular athletes during his three seasons with the Georgia Bulldogs.

The three-time All-American tight end was part of a team that won 29 consecutive games and had a 42-2 record during his collegiate career. There were 12 Georgia players taken in the 2023 NFL draft and 15 in the 2022 NFL draft.

None stood out more to Bowers than Travon Walker.

“Going against him my freshman year, I first got there — just little freshman me, I was skinny — and he was on the other side of the ball in 6-tech and just banging on … it was awful,” Bowers said of Walker on Pro Football Talk. “He was the freakiest dude I think I’ve seen come through there.”

Walker, 23, put up astounding workout numbers at the NFL Combine before he was taken No. 1 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 6’5, 272-pounder ran a 4.51 40-yard dash and had a 35.5-inch vertical jump.

But if it was up to Bowers, he’d get right back to lining up against Walker. Later in his interview with PFT, the tight end said he’d love to wind up playing for the Tennessee Titans.

Bowers, who is widely considered one of the best ever tight end prospects, isn’t expected to stay on the board long in April. The Titans currently own the No. 7 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

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Top 15 plays of the Jaguars’ 2023 season

The Jaguars didn’t end up in the playoffs like they hoped, but they still made several impressive plays en route to a winning record.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t end up in the playoffs as fans hoped and most expected.

Instead of defending their AFC South title from the season prior, the team lost five of its last six to stumble to a 9-8 finish. That wasn’t enough to beat out the Houston Texans for the division crown and didn’t earn them a wild card berth either.

While the ho-hum ending to the year left a sour taste, Jacksonville’s talented roster still turned out a few impressive plays en route to a winning record in the 2023 season.

Here are the Jaguars’ top 15 plays of the season:

8 stats that tell the story of the Jaguars’ disappointing 2023 season

How did a once-promising season fall to pieces for the Jaguars? Here are eight stats that explain how things went south:

The Jacksonville Jaguars were expected to be a dark horse Super Bowl contender in 2023 after surging into contention last season.

While there were speed bumps early, the Jaguars looked the part in October and parts of November en route to an 8-3 record through 12 weeks. Then the wheels fell off.

The Jaguars lost five of their last six, including a brutal 28-20 loss on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans that unceremoniously ended their year just outside of the postseason field.

What went wrong for the Jaguars in a season that once looked so promising? Here are eight statistics that help explain how the Jaguars’ 2023 season fell to pieces:

5 Jaguars players to watch vs the Titans in Week 18

The Jaguars offense is finally starting to get healthy again.

The Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t completely out of the woods, but fans can breathe again. The team ended its four-game losing streak in Week 17, beating the Panthers in a 26-point shutout.

The Jaguars have now guaranteed themselves a winning record, but a win could move the Jaguars to 10-7 and clinch the AFC South title.

Tennessee is in a different place than it was last time the teams met, and a few key Jaguars will need to be at the top of their game to secure another win for Jacksonville.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch against the Titans in Week 18:

Josh Allen: I believe Travon Walker will break my sack record

Josh Allen doesn’t think his new single-season sack record will last too long.

When Josh Allen broke the Jacksonville Jaguars’ single-season franchise record for sacks Sunday, he didn’t snatch it away from a player sad to see it go. In fact, Allen said he got a text from the former record-holder, Calais Campbell, telling him to “go break the record.”

Allen, 26, wants to do the same thing when his record — which now stands at 16.5 sacks with one game left to play — eventually falls.

“Records are meant to be broken, I can’t wait for somebody to break my record,” Allen said after the Jaguars’ 26-0 win Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. “I had a record in college. They broke that record. And I believe [Travon Walker] will break this record.”

With two sacks against the Panthers, Walker got to nine sacks on the year. While he’d have to just about double that effort to take the record, Walker’s upward trajectory has to be encouraging for the Jaguars.

In the meantime, Allen will enjoy his time atop the franchise leaderboard.

“For me to be in the history books, it’s a huge — I’m a legacy type of guy, I want to leave a legacy everywhere I go,” Allen said. “This is a huge accomplishment for myself, the team and for my family as well. Man, I didn’t do it by myself, first and foremost. So shout-out to everybody who was a part of it.”

Allen is playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract and is set to become a free agent in the offseason. It seems highly unlikely that comes to fruition, though. If the Jaguars can’t lock down the pass rusher with an extension, the team will likely use the franchise tag to retain him for at least one more season.

Regardless, Allen’s massive season couldn’t come at a better time for the 2019 top 10 draft pick.

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5 Jaguars players to watch vs the Buccaneers in Week 16

Can the Jaguars get their offense back on track in Tampa Bay?

The Jacksonville Jaguars are finally, mercifully done playing AFC North teams. After playing the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Ravens three weeks in a row, the Jaguars fell from 8-3 to 8-6.

This makes Jacksonville’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers much more important. The Jaguars have a narrow lead — only due to tiebreakers — over the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans, who also sit at 8-6.

Tampa Bay is also playing for its division, though. The Buccaneers are 7-7, as are the New Orleans Saints, so they will need to keep to their winning ways if they want to earn a playoff spot.

While the Buccaneers have talent on both sides of the football, Jacksonville has the talent to get the job done if it can put things back together.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch when they travel to Tampa Bay to play the Bucs in Week 16:

Josh Allen challenges Travon Walker: ‘I think he can play better’

Josh Allen wants to see more out of Travon Walker.

On Sunday night, Jacksonville Jaguars outside linebacker Travon Walker flashed the skills and talent that made him the No. 1 overall pick a year ago.

His teammate, Josh Allen, wants to see more, though.

“I think Tray can play better,” Allen said Monday. “Hopefully, if he was up here saying anything, he would say he can play better. The consistency to areas to improve each week, those are the signs that we need for him to take those steps.

“I would say the best players need to make the best plays. He’s one of our best players on defense and he has to make plays and we expect that from him. We’re never surprised when he does make a play, we just expect more.”

Walker finished with an impressive sack and a tackle for loss in the Jaguars’ 23-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He was credited with six total pressures by PFF, tying a career high, and he received his highest pass rushing grade of the year so far.

“It’s just like people with me, they expect me to make those plays and when my play comes to me, I’m going to make it. Same with Tray, when his play comes, he has to make it. … I think there’s still room to improve, that’s another way of holding each other accountable.”

A year ago, Walker finished his rookie season with 3.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, and 10 quarterback hits. He’s cleared all of those marks 14 games into his second year with six sacks, six tackles for loss, and 14 quarterback hits.

It may not be up to the standard of a No. 1 overall pick yet, but Allen is determined to get the most out of Walker.

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