Why Travon Walker Believes He Is in Play for the Jaguars at No. 1

Could the Jaguars really take Travon Walker at No. 1 overall? He thinks so.

Less than one week before the Jacksonville Jaguars hit the podium to make the No. 1 overall pick, there is still a complete guess as to who they could pick. But one person believes Georgia edge defender Travon Walker is seriously in play. 

That person just happens to be Walker himself, who told Yahoo! Sports' Eric Edholm that he believes is in the running to be the No. 1 pick. 

"Me personally, I do think I have a shot at being the first pick overall," Walker told Edholm. "But it's a situation where no one knows where they'll end up. You don't know what the people upstairs, the GMs, things of that sort [are thinking]. A coach might like you a lot more than the GM likes you.

"So you never really know how it all plays out. I am just leaving it in God's hands."

Walker has long been rumored to be in the running for the Jaguars' top pick, with the Georgia product being speculated to be a favorite of general manager Trent Baalke's thanks to his frame, length and potential.

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).

“Well that’s the fun part is listening to the coaches because every scheme is a little bit different, coaches use them a little bit differently. So where does that guy fit in our scheme versus where he might fit in another scheme?" Baalke said on Friday when asked about Walker's versatility. 

"That’s talked about a lot and you really leave that up to the coaches. You have a vision as a personnel guy where you think a guy could play or should play and then you just give him to the coaches and you hear them out and that’s how you just kind of put the pieces together that way.”

Walker currently has the second-best odds to be the Jaguars' pick at No. 1, ahead of Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux, North Carolina State's Ikem Ekwonu and Alabama's Evan Neal. The only player Walker trails is Michigan's Aidan Hutchinson, who has long been the favorite to be the No. 1 pick but could potentially see himself picked at No. 2 if the Jaguars are all in on Walker.

"I think when you look at both those players, they’re both productive in their own way. [They’re] used differently, totally different schemes, used differently within those schemes," Baalke said on Friday.

"Again, you’re looking at them, you’re looking at how they made their plays, how they were used, and then you have a vision for how you can use them. All of that plays a part, but traits are important, production is important. You weigh it all.”