Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Doug Pederson met with the media to preview next week’s 2022 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, for fans and media members, Jacksonville didn’t tip its hand about whether it is leaning toward selecting Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson or Georgia’s Travon Walker.
But the reporters in attendance did their best to get him or Pederson to slip up. One reporter asked a clever question about whether he valued production or traits more when evaluating a prospect. Baalke didn’t take the bait, though, and said one shouldn’t necessarily be ranked over the other.
“No, I don’t think you do,” Baalke said about weighing traits or production more. “But I think when you look at both of those players, they’re both productive in their own way, used differently, right? Totally different schemes, used differently within those schemes.
“So, you just got to, again, you’re looking at them, you’re looking at how they made their plays, how they were used, and then you have a vision for how you can use them. So, all of that plays a part but traits are important, production’s important. You weigh it all.”
It’s a great question to ask Baalke because it would’ve provided great insight into who he liked more. If he said he valued traits more than production, that describes what teams like most about Walker and vice versa.
But Baalke’s history with the San Francisco 49ers gives us a clearer image. He opted to take players with more potential and better traits like Aldon Smith, DeForest Buckner, and Arik Armstead instead of players with stronger production in college, which points to him likely favoring Walker.
However, Baalke has a lot of pressure on him from the fan base and owner Shad Khan to nail this pick. Hutchinson is more of a sure thing as a prospect and had a monster season with the Wolverines last season compared to a so-so year from Walker on the stat sheet. So it’s still ultimately a toss-up who the Jaguars pick next Thursday.
