Detroit Lions Reveal Their Reaction to Jaguars Drafting Travon Walker at No. 1

The Lions were long rumored to be in the Aidan Hutchinson market; the Jaguars drafting of Travon Walker led them directly to that scenario. But how was the Jaguars' move viewed behind the scenes in Detroit?

The Jacksonville Jaguars went against the grain on April 28, selecting Georgia defensive lineman at No. 1 overall and bucking the conventional wisdom that suggested they should instead take Michigan defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson.

Thanks to the Detroit Lions, we now know exactly how one team reacted to the Jaguars' choice with the first overall pick. 

In the latest episode of the Lions-produced series 'Inside the Den', the Lions let viewers get a look behind the scenes as the Jaguars made the No. 1 pick. The Lions, sitting at No. 2 overall, would of course go on to select Hutchinson.

"I've played this scenario in my head so many times. Like, I think whatever name goes up there, like, I'm just going to be completely happy still. I've gotten all my emotions out," Lions general manager Brad Holmes said to Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp before the Jaguars selected.

"We went through so many different scenarios. Does Hutchinson pop up on that screen? Okay, this is what we're going to do. Does Travon Walker pop up on that screen? This is what we're going to do," Holmes said in the production of the video. 

"So we were prepared for anything Jacksonville was going to do."

Then the moment of truth came. The Jaguars picked Walker, leading to Lions head coach Dan Campbell giving a triumphant fist pump as the Lions prepared to immediately send in the card, with Holmes stating, "there is only one person on the board! There's only one name ... one name up there."

In short, this video makes it seem like Walker likely wasn't higher on the Lions' board than Hutchinson. We get context clues and glimpses into each team's draft rankings when productions like this are revealed, and we already know how the Cowboys ranked Hutchinson and Walker.

"It was a process for a lot of these guys. We had it narrowed down to six, seven guys for quite some time, and we were working through that, working through the fits," Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said after making the pick. 

"I'm not going to get into comparing Travon to Aidan or any other player in the draft. These guys are all individuals and there's -- you look at them for what they are and how they were played in the system they were played in and try to envision how that's going to fit the system that we employ."

This, of course, means nothing in terms of future projection. Just because the Lions appear to have Hutchinson higher on their board than Walker doesn't mean they are right and the Jaguars are wrong, nor does the Jaguars' own belief mean they are right. The beauty of the draft is that nobody knows how these picks really stack up until years down the road, when we get to see them turn in productive years in the NFL.

For now, though, one can rest assured the Jaguars and Lions are both thrilled with their picks. Walker has looked like the real deal since stepping into TIAA Bank Field thanks to his rare traits, while the Lions' draft day reaction indicates they got the outcome they wanted.