Jags take ‘athletic freak’ Walker with top pick in NFL draft
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Travon Walker “had a good feeling” he might be the top pick in the NFL draft when he visited Jacksonville earlier this month.
He was way ahead of just about everyone else — maybe even the Jaguars.
The Georgia pass rusher rose up draft boards following an impressive combine and ended up being the No. 1 selection Thursday night. It wasn’t a total shocker since he was the betting favorite in Las Vegas, but few saw it coming a month ago.
Placing more emphasis on pro potential than college production, the Jaguars chose Walker to pair with Josh Allen in hopes of turning a mediocre pass rush into one of the best in the league.
“I was hoping it was the Jaguars from the get-go,” said Walker, who grew up about four hours north in Thomaston, Georgia.
Jacksonville took the 6-foot-5, 272-pound “athletic freak” over Michigan star Aidan Hutchinson, who set a school record with 14 sacks in 2021 and finished second in Heisman Trophy voting.
General manager Trent Baalke had been leaning toward Walker for weeks, maybe even months, and new coach Doug Pederson insisted he was totally in agreement on selecting the former Bulldogs defender at No. 1.
“This thing was never split,” said Pederson, who reportedly wanted North Carolina State left tackle Ickey Ekwonu. “It’s out (there). I just want to go on record and say it was never that way. I don’t know where that came from. One of the things I loved about our process was the communication and us being on the same page.”
Picking Walker wasn’t close to the slam dunk drafting quarterback Trevor Lawrence was a year ago. Critics argued that Hutchinson was the more polished product and pointed to Walker’s limited college numbers. He had 9¬Ω sacks in three years in Athens, Georgia, including six during last season’s national championship run.