Jaguars vs. Falcons: PFF Names Travon Walker Player of the Game

The Jacksonville Jaguars veteran and former No. 1 pick had a big performance against the Atlanta Falcons.

Aug 23, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker (44) rushes the passer against the Atlanta Falcons in the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

As expected, the Jacksonville Jaguars made easy work of the Atlanta Falcons in Friday night's preseason finale. With the Jaguars starters playing most of the first half against a host of second- and third-stringers from the Falcons, the Jaguars cruised to a 31-0 victory.

Every time a team's starters plays against another team's backups, domination is to be expected. And that is exactly what the Jaguars got out of Travon Walker, the No. 1 pick in 2022 and one of the true building blocks of the Jaguars' roster.

Thanks to a performance that saw him rack up a sack and a deflected pass, Walker was named the player of the game by Pro Football Focus.

"Edge defender Travon Walker, the No. 1 overall pick in 2022, shined in this contest. He recorded one run stop and four quarterback pressures, including a sack, on 21 snaps," PFF said.

Walker is on an upward trajectory after hitting 10 sacks in 2023, a significant jump from his rookie year production. After fewer than four sacks as a rookie, Walker reached double-digit sacks and doubled his tackles for loss from five to 10 and nearly doubled his quarterback hits from 10 to 19.

“The end of last season, it just kind of helped me play a lot more freely. Now going into my year three, it's about me putting all the pieces together from my year-one to year-two. Now I just want to now I feel like I'm able to just go out there and play ball without as much thinking," Walker said during training camp.

“Obviously, like you said, big jump from year one to year two. Obviously just to keep progressing and at this point in my career, just be consistent. Obviously, I want to do what helps my team win game and obviously being consistent is number one thing.”

Expect for Walker to build on Friday's performance as he looks to be one of the most important pieces of Ryan Nielsen's defense in 2024.

“A player who can do it all. I mean, he’s a good run player, Travon’s a good pass rusher, can rush with speed, finesse. He’s a good power rusher. In the run game, he can play head-up a guy or he can play on the edge," Nielsen said this week.

"So, there are a lot of things that he does really well. So just the continuation of just taking this game to the next step, playing a little faster, playing a bit more violent. As we go with this system, his place and how he just sees where he fits in in terms of, ‘This is how I set the edge, or I rush,’ or those types of things. Just faster, more violent, things like that. But it’s coming. He had a really good practice yesterday. So just look for that to continue on Friday.”

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