Jaguars immediately should feel validated for Travon Walker pick

Travon Walker showed why the Jacksonville Jaguars selected him with the first-overall pick this year in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.

The Jacksonville Jaguars held the first overall pick in the NFL Draft for the second consecutive year, and there was debate as to who they would select. Names like Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal and Michigan pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson were linked to Jacksonville. Yet, the Jaguars went with Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker.

Walker displayed tremendous athleticism during the Scouting Combine, but he did not have the statistics that pop out due to being moved to different positions on the stacked Bulldogs defense. That led to a debate as to whether that was the right pick.

Jacksonville faced off against the Las Vegas Raiders in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Thursday night. In the first quarter, Walker recorded a sack on Raider quarterback Jarrett Stidham.

Travon Walker shows why he was No. 1 pick in Hall of Fame Game

While this will go down as a sack, it is the preseason so it does not officially count to his career resume.

While this did happen in the first quarter, let’s take a look at what happened on the very first play of the game. The Raiders hiked the ball, and Walker made it past offensive tackle Brandon Parker and got to Stidham as he was throwing the ball. The pass was completed, and Walker was called for a questionable roughing the passer penalty.

In his three years with Georgia, Walker recorded 61 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, three defended passes, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one interception.

Yes, it is only a preseason game, but Jaguars fans have to be excited about what they saw from Walker. Of course, they will want to see it translate to the regular season.