The Jacksonville Jaguars may have one of the league’s top pass-rushing in the future after drafting Travon Walker first overall in April’s draft. By making him their first choice in the draft, they landed a pass-rusher to pair with Josh Allen, who was the Jags’ top selection in the 2019 NFL Draft.
And while the team hasn’t completed organized team activities yet, the relationship between Allen and Walker is already off to a fast start it seems. Earlier this month, Allen told the media that he believes Walker has the potential to be a double-digit sack player once he gets acclimated to the NFL and learns the outside linebacker role.
On Monday, Walker returned the kind words during the first day of mandatory minicamp and said the veteran has been a great source for him. He added that Allen has been helping him learn a bit more about the NFL game by getting in some extra work with him and staying on top of him as he’s in his first NFL offseason program.
“Josh, he’s been a great help to me. He’s one of those guys always hitting me up. He likes to get extra work, so we like to get extra work as well,” Walker said, according to News4Jax. “So, I come out here and work with him. Every time he texts me, ‘go get that extra work.’ He’s been a great source for me, somebody who’s been there ever since I walked in the door just to try and help me improve as a player and help me grow and be a great NFL player that he wants to be and this team needs.”
Allen is the perfect player to mentor Walker as he’s seen a lot of adversity when looking at the team’s success. Since being drafted, Allen has had three head coaches, with his first two (Doug Marrone and Urban Meyer) having very little success in turning the franchise around.
Allen also has witnessed how it’s done when it comes to mentoring. He had Calais Campbell to mentor him as a rookie. In terms of sacks, that was Allen’s best year as he registered 10.5 that season. That marked a rookie record for the Jags franchise, and it helped Allen land in the Pro Bowl, another first-time feat for the organization.
Now, four seasons later, Allen is hoping Walker can surpass his rookie sack record. The former Georgia Bulldog told the media he was confident that he could get it done and has accepted the challenge.
“He did. Yes, he did. I know I can get it done,” Walker added.
Walker didn’t play the outside linebacker role extensively in college but does have some experience there. That means he’s going to have to take in a lot of lessons come training camp, but with the coaches allowing him to stick to one position for the moment, it’s certainly achievable.
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