How Good Is Travon Walker? It’s Hard To Know
Is there a new leader in the clubhouse to become the number one overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft? Maybe? Regardless, the hype train is building for Georgia pass rusher Travon Walker in the weeks leading up to the draft. I just have one question. Does anybody know for certain just how good Walker is because I don’t.
I’ll be honest with everyone; you can go through my draft notes all year. I watched Georgia a lot. I don’t think I had a thing to say about Walker all year. That’s not to say the guy isn’t awesome. They’re 12 deep at every position it feels like. I spent a lot of time hoping the Nolan Smith breakout would happen and maybe it eventually will. I probably should have spent that attention on Walker.
Walker doesn’t have a ton of production beyond this year. We know he was already a five star guy. The talent is there. It just didn’t really flash until this year. To be honest, if you’re picking Walker, it really has nothing to do with production. Walker had six sacks this year which more than doubled his prior collegiate total. I’m not sure he even had the best showing against Evan Neal. I think Neal won those battles.
This is about upside and potential. A ceiling where not sure that exists yet. Walker has all the makings of a much better version of Bradley Chubb. His combine was off the charts good. So good that you can make the case that Walker had the best workout of any player at the event. It was that good.
Walker is a big 6-foot-5, 272. For him to notch a 4.51 40 time is not human. It was a freak show workout and showed the kind of guy he can be in the pros. It was everything. Even the hands. It was something like in the transformers. Anyway, Garrett has more here after doing the draft profile on the Georgia product.
I don’t think Walker is perfect either. He’s not the bendiest guy in the world despite the fact that he sinks his hips well. Does he has a five pitch mix pass rushing wise to where we think that sack production will be there at the NFL level?
This is a hard one for me. I am in on Walker. Definitely more so than Aidan Hutchinson. I do believe Walker will be a very good pro but projecting that baseline ceiling will be difficult. It’s hard to envision taking him first overall but teams should probably feel good they’re getting a stud at the end of the day.
