How Jaguars Unlocked Former No. 1 Pick's Potential

The Jacksonville Jaguars got an incredible performance from former first-overall pick Travon Walker on Sunday. What allowed him to play so dominantly?

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker (44) reacts to his sack on Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco (15) during the fourth quarter of an NFL football matchup Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars edged the Colts on a field goal 37-34. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The simple answer, according to Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach Doug Pederson, is coaching. Defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen has experience as a former NFL defensive line coach. It was only natural that he found a way to draw out the best from edge rusher Travon Walker.

Walker, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, desperately needed the performance he had on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts (his whole team did, actually).

The outside noise was getting louder -- critics with picture-perfect hindsight vision decrying the selection of Walker over Detroit Lions' superstar edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson. Hutchinson has been an impact player from Day 1. Walker took a little longer. Year 2 was his breakout.

The start of the 2024 season was abysmal for the third-year edge rusher, but that was the case for pretty much the entirety of the Jaguars. In Week 5, Walker's immense ceiling, the exact reason the Jaguars drafted him at No. 1, shown through. Pederson credits Nielsen.

"You're really  seeing his power, his length, speed and athleticism, and who he is as a player. I think this scheme benefits him," Pederson told reporters on Monday. "He's embraced and really kind of bought into Ryan's philosophy and scheme and attack style. He just continues to improve each week, and just like where he's at, I mean, he had a really good game yesterday. Probably could have had a fourth sack in there, maybe a fifth sack in there. But that's just him and that's what I see during the week, how he prepares during the week and it's carrying over to the game and it did yesterday."

What's so special about Nielsen's scheme? It allows Walker to focus on nothing but creating havoc as a pass rusher.

"It's an attack style, an aggressive style of front, come off the ball, roll off the ball," Pederson said. "Being able to teach him how to create a pass-rush plan, how to  execute that in a game, and then just him wanting to learn, and watching tape on other edge rushers around the league and in the history of our game. It's just making him a more versatile, more well-rounded defensive end that teams have to account for."

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