Jaguars coaches are excited for Travon Walker to use his 'superpower'

Apr 18, 2024

Sam Acho and Alan Hahn discuss Trevor Lawrence's MVP chances going into Year 3 with the Jaguars. (1:21)

JACKSONVILLE -- Being the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft comes with enormous pressure to be an elite player immediately.

Jaguars outside linebacker Travon Walker felt that last season.

While Walker had a strong rookie debut in Week 1, the buzz faded as the season went on. He finished 2022 with 3.5 sacks and didn’t receive a single vote for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

But according to Walker and his coaches, pressure wasn’t the reason he didn’t meet the lofty expectations. Rather, the team moving him from defensive tackle to outside linebacker (because they felt his skills translated to that spot), learning how to rush the passer on the fly and figuring out life in the NFL all at the same time was challenging.

“It was just something a little new to me as a rookie, coming in here and hearing a lot of things from different coaches, a lot of different veteran guys,” Walker said. “Just trying to take pieces from everybody, but sometimes I have to know what I can listen to and some things I just have to tune out for the moment as well.

“It [didn’t] make it hard to play free, it just makes it a little harder to play fast, like I know I can play.”

That’s all behind Walker now -- he’s no longer the No. 1 pick everyone has their eyes on -- and the Jaguars are counting on him to improve in Year 2.

“He was taken No. 1 over everybody, so you can look at that as pressure -- but Travon and a bunch of guys in the locker room, they’ve been ‘the guy’ all their lives,” defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell said. “The pressure, they’re used to it. But he just understands now that, ‘I’m the guy. I’m the No. 1 pick, but I’m also Travon. I’m going to be Travon on the field and my Travon is good enough for the Jags.’

“Because we trust in his ability, and it’s going to show, and it’ll pay dividends for us.”

THE JAGUARS TOOK Walker over No. 2 pick Aidan Hutchinson, who was a more proven pass-rusher and ended up second in voting for DROY, because they felt Walker had a higher ceiling, despite the fact that he played mainly defensive tackle at Georgia.

They loved Walker’s talent and measurables (6-foot-5, 272 pounds with 35 ½-inch arms), but they also knew he had limited pass-rush moves and almost no counter moves. It was expected that it would take time for Walker to perfect playing outside linebacker in the NFL.

Walker flashed the kind of game-wrecking player he could be in the season opener against the Washington Commanders. In addition to having a sack and four tackles, Walker picked off quarterback Carson Wentz’s screen pass to running back Antonio Gibson. He had been engaged with left tackle Charles Leno Jr. but moved to his left and extended his arms to snag the ball out of the air.

But for the rest of the season, Walker had just 2.5 sacks and didn’t break up another pass in 14 games (he missed two games with a high ankle sprain). He did excel against the run, though, and his coaches say the good things he did -- and they say he did a lot of good things -- don’t always show up on the stat sheet.

“We don't go to the playoffs last year without Travon. We just don't,” defensive line coach Brentson Buckner said. “Now a lot of stuff he did, it's not stat-worthy … But you look at that film. He's choking down the tight end or he's setting the edge on the tackle or he's running the stunt and he's pushing the pocket and Arden [Key] or somebody else get the sack. Those are those uncharted things that he doesn't get credit for because they’re not flashy, but us as coaches we’re like, ‘That’s a football player.’

“And that's why we fell in love with him at Georgia. ‘Cause everybody else around him got all the superstar stats, but if you look and see who did the dirty work, it was him.”

BEING A GREAT run defender and effectively doing the dirty work is great, but the Jaguars need a lot more from Walker in 2023.

The team didn’t draft a pass-rusher in 2023 until the fifth round and haven’t signed any of the veteran rushers still available, so they’re relying on Walker and outside linebacker Josh Allen, who’s playing on his fifth-year option, to improve a pass rush that ranked 25th in the NFL last season with 35 sacks.

“I do think he's on track to being a player that we think can be a person that the opposing offense has to look at when they go in their scouting report that week and say, ’Here's a guy we need to watch. Here's a guy we need a game plan for,’” outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey said. “But that has to be earned. And so that'll be the challenge for Travon this year. He has that ability and then the application of some of the things that he's been taught.”

Walker spent his rookie season learning how to rush the passer from a two-point stance, picking up some pass-rush moves and counter moves, and the nuances of playing outside linebacker.

It’s not a simple or short process. Even though he spent his offseason working on those same things he’s not even close to being a polished pass-rusher. He is, however, a smarter pass-rusher because he said he’s no longer going to rely on just his quickness and strength.

“One of my strengths is my speed and my power,” Walker said. “Not only going to my power [is what he wants to avoid]. Sometimes last year, that’s what I relied on once I got tired."

Though it’s early in training camp, Walker’s coaches say he is better than he was when he walked off the field in Kansas City after the team lost the divisional round playoff game to the Chiefs in January.

“Travon has done a nice job so far,” head coach Doug Pederson said. “Even our guys on offense said that he's definitely improved.

“Last year was big. He can go back, which he did all off season, and watch himself and then go back and watch other top edge rushers and really start putting his pieces together.”

Pederson said part of doing that is moving Walker around more in 2023. The Jaguars tinkered with that late in the season and had him rushing from the interior and from a three-point stance at times, which is where he was most comfortable.

“You can see the growth,” Caldwell said. “Last year was a learning year for him. Learned how to pass rush. Now he’s to the point where he understands what he likes to do. I call it his superpower and I tell him all the time, ‘Use your superpower.’

“He's a guy that's always going to work hard and he's always going to give you what you ask of him and we're just excited for him this year.”