The Jacksonville Jaguars held the No. 1 overall pick in both the 2021 and 2022 NFL drafts.
In 2021, Jacksonville used the top pick on Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Last month, the Jags looked to the defensive side of the ball where they drafted Georgia’s Travon Walker No. 1 overall in the 2022 draft.
Walker has been impressing so far during his short time in Jacksonville, and you can add Lawrence to the list of players and coaches who like what they see.
“He looks the part for sure,” Lawrence said in his Monday press conference. “Just really his demeanor, I enjoy being around him. [He’s] a really calm guy, humble, hard worker. Then obviously you see him, and you see why he’s the number one pick and all that. But just his personality, I’m excited to get to know him more. I think that’s kind of the type of personality that I gel with, so I’m excited to get to know him. I think he’s going to be a great player for us.”
Walker had an incredible combine performance and a dominant 2021 season. The Thomaston, Georgia, native became the first Bulldog taken No. 1 since Matthew Stafford in 2008.
Lawrence was familiar with Walker due to their Georgia backgrounds, though they did not know each other personally until recently.
“I mean, I didn’t know him well, but we’re both from Georgia so I remember meeting him and would kind of follow loosely in college,” Lawrence said. “Then to see him come out this year and that team, Georgia’s team last year was so stacked. I was actually at the game, they played Clemson first game of the season, so I got to see him firsthand. Now playing together’s pretty cool.”
In 2021, Walker had 6 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss and a team-high 36 quarterback hurries. He logged more playing time than any other UGA defensive lineman (56% of total defensive snaps).
Georgia had five first round NFL draft picks, becoming the first school to have five defensive players selected in the first round.
