Mock Draft Roundup: NFL Insider Projects Travon Walker to Jaguars

NFL Network's Peter Schrager continues to bang the drum for Travon Walker at No. 1 overall, officially mocking him there in his latest projection.

'Tis the season for mock drafts, a yearly tradition in which media attempt to project how the second-biggest day on the NFL calendar plays out.

As we inch closer and closer to the 2022 NFL Draft, we will be tracking how other national media outlets are projecting the Jacksonville Jaguars to attack the draft and build around 2021 No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence.

In just one week, the Jaguars will finally be able to turn their selection in and decide on the next future star of the franchise.

But until then, we can continue to debate the merits of the Jaguars' options at No. 1 overall and what the Jaguars could ultimately decide to do.

So, what is one potential scenario for the Jaguars at No. 1 overall? In this edition of Mock Draft Roundup, we take a look at NFL Network's Peter Schrager's projections and what they could mean for the Jaguars moving forward.

No. 1 overall: EDGE Travon Walker, Georgia

One of the biggest advocates of the Jaguars potentially making a shake-up at No. 1 overall has been Schrager himself. As such, it is no surprise to see Schrager move off the Aidan Hutchinson train and begin to project Georgia's Travon Walker at No. 1 overall in his latest mock.

"I'm told by people in the know that the decision on this pick is far from made. With less than two weeks to go, the Jaguars are still building their board. The fact that it remains a debate makes me think Trent Baalke is leaning toward Walker," Schrager said.

As things stand today, Walker has the second-best odds to be the pick at No. 1 overall. In the eyes of most insiders and oddsmakers, the Jaguars' decision at No. 1 overall will come down to Hutchinson and Walker, with Schrager going with Walker in this scenario.

In 2020, Walker played in nine games and recorded 1.0 sack, 2.0 tackles for loss, one interception, and one forced fumble. Walker then had a career season in 2021, starting all 15 games as Georgia finished the year as National Champions. During Georgia's title run, Walker recorded 6.0 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, two pass deflections, one fumble recovery, and a team-high 36 quarterback hurries.

Walker then had arguably the best combine performance of any defensive player in 2021, measuring at 6-foot-5 and 272 pounds but still running a 4.51 40-yard dash (98th percentile), a 36-inch vertical jump (80th percentile), 123-inch broad jump (87th percentile), 6.89-second three-cone (93rd percentile), and a 4.32 20-yard shuttle (76th percentile).

Hutchinson didn't have to wait long to hear his name called in this projection. Immediately after the Jaguars take Walker, Schrager has the Detroit Lions taking Hutchinson at No. 2 overall. The widely-held expectation is if the Jaguars do not take Hutchinson, then he will have his name called with the very next pick. 

"If the Jags go with Travon Walker, Detroit won't waste a second turning in this draft card. Local ties aside, Hutchinson is everything the Lions are looking for in a franchise building block and future 10-year starter up front," Schrager wrote.

Our view

In our eyes, the Jaguars clearly have to go with a pass-rusher at No. 1 overall. They could take an offensive lineman such as Ikem Ekwonu or Evan Neal and slot him into left guard as a rookie before potentially moving him to left or right tackle in 2023 and beyond. 

Still, the Jaguars' entire offseason suggests they are set to take a pass-rusher and address offensive line later. They franchise-tagged Cam Robinson because they believe in him as the answer moving into both the short- and long-term future. As such, the Jaguars should go with either Hutchinson or Walker here.

Per TruMedia and PFF, the Jaguars defense finished No. 26 in sacks (32.0), No. 13 in pressure percentage (9.6%), No. 22 in quarterback hits (91), and No. 32 in fumbles forced (2.0). Josh Allen (7.5) and Dawuane Smoot (6.0) combined for 13.5 sacks, but no other Jaguars' defender had more than 3.0. And in terms of edge rushers, the Jaguars' backups (K'Lavon Chaisson, Jihad Ward, Lerentee McCray, Jordan Smith) combined for just three sacks. Ward and McCray have since become free agents.

The Jaguars did add Arden Key in free agency, but that doesn't erase the need for an edge rusher. Key is best as an interior rusher on obvious passing downs, creating the short-term need for a pass-rusher opposite of Allen. Add in the fact the Jaguars have their top two pass-rushers on expiring deals and it seems obvious to me that edge rusher is the priority at No. 1 overall.

Is Walker the right pick, though, especially with Hutchinson on the board and being picked just one selection later? That is the question facing Trent Baalke and the Jaguars a week before the draft. The Jaguars could take a big risk betting on Walker that could very well pay off in a few years, but it is a risk that will surely draw attention and raised eyebrows throughout the league and throughout Jacksonville itself.

"This take from an AFC college scouting director sums up where Jags GM Trent Baalke is right now: 'Everyone knows he wants to trade it, and that tells me he’s not in love with any of them'," SI.com's Albert Breer wrote last week.

"Multiple rival executives raised to me that Baalke is also sensitive to a perception problem he and his team have right now, and that he, and the team, will get roasted if they do anything other than take Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson or get a king’s ransom for the pick." 

Going strictly off the best player available, Hutchinson should be the pick. He is missing length, but he has production, athletic testing and checks the boxes off the field. Walker is an enticing bundle of traits on the edge and is more versatile than Hutchinson, but the Jaguars are a franchise that can't afford to miss at No. 1 overall.