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When Jacksonville selected Travon Walker over Aidan Hutchinson with the first pick of this year’s NFL draft, it was a bit of a surprise. However, the Jaguars are very confident they made the right decision to choose a player they believe has more upside.
While appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson explained the team’s thought process behind the pick.
“For us, it was just the potential, the upside, the things that we saw,” Pederson said. “As coaches, we’re privy to a lot of film and a lot of conversations that a lot of people don’t get. A lot of information, and part of our job is to gain that information, and we just felt at the time, and even sitting here today that the best for our organization was Travon Walker.”
Pederson specifically mentioned Walker’s versatility as something that stood out when the team was looking at him during the draft process.
“When you look at his body of work at Georgia, from Day 1, the day he got there, they moved him all up and down that defensive front and he’s a very versatile player,” Pederson said. “There’s a lot of unique things that he can do along the defensive front. For us, we feel like he’s going to be a good outside EDGE rusher with Josh Allen, and K.C., K’Lavon Chaisson and these guys that we have [like] Jordan Smith. He adds to that room and it’s a possession we addressed in the draft and we’re happy, excited and can’t wait to get him in here.”
Pederson added the Jaguars never really considered an offensive tackle at the top of the draft since they were able to sign Cam Robinson to an extension. He was also careful to praise Hutchinson, who he believes will have a “great career” in the NFL.
The Jaguars had two total first round picks, taking Walker at No. 1 and linebacker Devin Lloyd at No. 27. This year will also be Pederson’s first year as the team’s head coach after Jacksonville finished with the worst record in the NFL in back-to-back seasons.
