Jaguars' Bob Sutton Recalls First Impressions of Travon Walker

The long-time coach and Jaguars senior defensive assistant remembers exactly what he first thought about the Jaguars' three defensive rookies.

Bob Sutton has seen a lot in his 40-plus years coaching football. But he hasn't seen many players like No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker.

The Jaguars' senior defensive assistant and former Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator is entering his second season with the team and 23rd season coaching in the NFL. 

But it wasn't until this spring that Sutton saw a player with the collection of tools and motor that he sees from Walker, who the Jaguars selected out of Georgia with the top pick earlier this fall. When watching Georgia's defense during the pre-draft process, Sutton had several "holy smokes" moments ... sort of.

"I might have used something stronger. It was very descriptive, I will say that," Sutton said with a laugh at the end of OTAs in June. 

"That's the kind of impression he made on me. But yeah, he's gonna be a really, really good player."

Sutton's primary role with the Jaguars comes down to coaching inside linebackers along linebackers coach Tony Gilbert. It was because of this role that Sutton watched a lot of Georgia's defense in the lead-up to the draft, with Georgia having Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean and Channing Tindall all drafted from the linebacker position in April.

It was during Sutton's studying of Georgia's three inside linebackers that his eyes were drawn to Walker. Over and over again, Sutton's focus went from Quay Walker, Dean and Tindall to No. 44, the hulking defensive lineman who was making plays from sideline to sideline.

"I was doing all the linebackers at Georgia. During that process, you know, you can't help but not watch Travon," Sutton said. "I mean, because one thing I knew about Travon was and again, not studying him, not watching every reel of him is 'Dang, this guy plays hard. This guy plays really hard.'"

"He comes out of those stacks like his hair's on fire, you know, and when you have that trait, that's a built-in -- that's a DNA deal. Man, as a coach, you're fired up. Because you're not going to have to pry. I just think that's who he is."

Walker had a successful first season at Georgia, earning Freshman All-SEC honors in 2019 as he was named a co-winner of Georgia's Defensive Newcomer of the Year award. In 12 games, Walker finished with 2.5 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and one pass deflection while also contributing on kickoff coverage units.

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).

It was because of all of these traits, all of his intangibles and all of his versatility that the Jaguars made Walker the top pick. The pick has been panned nationally due to Walker's college sack and tackle for loss production in comparison to other top picks such as Detroit Lions' Aidan Hutchinson (No. 2 overall) and New York Giants' Kayvon Thibodeaux (No. 5 overall).

But Walker's production has never bothered the Jaguars. They see the role he played at Georgia -- and see his potential -- and have come to terms with the fact that the best is still to come for Walker.

But does this mean Sutton, for all of his vast NFL experience, made a pitch to Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke to select Walker over Hutchinson, Thibodeaux and others?

"I won't say that, but I wasn't disappointed," Sutton said with a sly smile. 

"I'll say that about Aiden too. That's one thing I loved about him, too. These two guys are going to be really good players. And both of them, the one thing you knew, they are going to play hard. And that's when you feel, you know, like, hey, we got something special here."