Travon Walker, a ferocious pass rusher who was a key figure on the historic defense that fueled Georgia’s national championship last season, is off the board.
Walker was drafted No. 1 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night.
Walker’s measurables and performance at the NFL Scouting Combine helped his draft stock soar in recent weeks. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 272 pounds, Walker ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash. Walker earlier this week became the betting favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Walker was widely viewed among NFL talent evaluators as the elite pass rushing prospect with the most upside. Walker started at defensive tackle in 15 games for Georgia last season, and finished with 37 total tackles, which was second among interior linemen. Walker had 6 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss, which were not as productive as Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson, for example. But he had a sack in each of the College Football Playoff games against Michigan and Alabama to help Georgia secure the national title.
Walker also had a team-high 36 quarterback hurries, and also logged more playing time than any other defensive lineman at Georgia, with 56 percent of the total defensive snaps.
Walker has long projected to be in this position. A native of Thomaston, Georgia (Upson-Lee), Walker was a 5-star prospect coming out of high school, and was ranked as the No. 2 defensive tackle nationally, and the No. 24 overall prospect nationally along with being the No. 5 prospect in Georgia.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
