Coming into the 2022 NFL draft, one of the primary questions was whether the Jacksonville Jaguars were going to take the “sure thing” in Michigan edge-rusher Aidan Hutchinson, or the athletic projection in Georgia multi-gap defender Travon Walker. Those who are aware of general manager Trent Baalke’s history know that he’s more than fine betting on athletic projects, and in the end, that’s what happened. The Jags turned in their card, and Walker’s name was on it.
“The first time I saw him was early October,” Baalke said of Walker after the pick was made. “From that moment on, I felt he had a lot of talent. Obviously, you don’t make the decision in the middle of October or early October. It’s a process, but he checked the boxes as we went through the process.
“This is a guy who played very consistent football all year long. This isn’t a guy who just jumped on the screen because he ran 4.51 in the 40-yard dash at the combine. He played some very good football through the course of the year.”
“Playing end at the University of Georgia is very different,” Walker said at the scouting combine. “Because at University of Georgia, we play a lot of different defenses, and so therefore you can be scattered all out on the field from playing a five technique, a four I on the front, you play a three. So you’re really doing everything, to just expand your resume. And it’s really a good thing that you can do all of that, play defensive end at University of Georgia. If you can play defensive end at the University of Georgia, it means a lot.”
It was different, and for of all Georgia’s historically great defensive play, they didn’t really have one alpha pass-rusher — Georgia’s pass rush came from a combination of deployment and scheme more than the four-on-the-floor stuff that help to define edge defenders in more obvious ways. Michigan’s defense, run by current Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, is that is you want it. The Wolverines had David Ojabo and Aidan Hutchinson at the edges, and they were more likely to get weird in coverage. With Smart’s defense, as Walker said, you’re dealing with alternate responsibilities.
Walker and interior defensive lineman Jalen Carter tied for the team lead with 34 pressures each, per Pro Football Focus. Walker had six sacks last season; Robert Beal led the team with 6.5, and linebacker Nakobe Dean was the only other player on that defense with more than six sacks (6.0). Dean and fellow linebacker Channing Tindall (26 pressures in 2021, exactly as many as Devonte Wyatt, who the Packers took with the 28th pick. So, it wasn’t one or two guys getting all the pressures, and everyone else taking a back seat. In Kirby Smart’s defense, everybody gets to drive for a little while.
Last season, Hutchinson had 72 pressures, and Ojabo had 42. It’s a different deal, and a different set of defenses. But now, we’re dealing with a first-overall pick who had a total of 60 pressures over three collegiate seasons.
This would seem to be an epic reach.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, new Jaguars DE Travon Walker is the first player selected first overall in the common draft era (since 1967) that never made an All-Conference or All-American team in college.
— Michael DiRocco (@ESPNdirocco) April 29, 2022
Where the Jaguars “reached,” if they did, was on Walker’s athletic potential. Walker participated in every Combine drill except the bench press, and the results were ridiculous. When you have a 6-foot-5, 272-pound defensive lineman who runs a 4.51 40-yard dash and a three-cone drill time of 6.89 seconds (which would be pretty good for a receiver or cornerback), that was going to get people sitting up and taking notice.
But still, there are those pesky pressure stats.
“There are a lot of things that go into production,” Baalke said of that issue. “It’s not at the end of the day just how many sacks they tally or how many pressures they have. There’s a run element to the game, too. There are a lot of ways to look at production. We feel very comfortable about his production run and pass with a lot of upside.”
Walker was asked to do a lot of things that mitigate the alleged lack of production. He also needs work in certain areas, so it’s time to see where the first-overall pick fits in an NFL defense.