Georgia's Travon Walker could hear his name called first at the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday.
That's a function of an incredible one-year rise for the 6-foot-5, 275-pound edge rusher. Walker dropped 15 pounds to become a starter for the Bulldogs' national championship defense in 2021. He impressed at the NFL Combine. Now, he's the betting favorite to be the No. 1 pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Walker, who is partnered with USAA ahead of the draft, might not be able to explain the hype. But he's not backing down from it.
"I don't get into all that mock draft stuff," Walker told Sporting News. "I know I'm capable of being one of those guys who could be the top guy. I'm a hard worker and I'm going to try to outwork everybody. Of course, I'm not going to say anybody's better than me."
Walker, a five-star recruit from Upson-Lee High School in Thomaston, Ga., remembered being moved to middle linebacker in high school because teams wouldn't run to his side of the field.
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He underwent a similar transformation at Georgia. After two seasons as a backup, Walker dropped 15 pounds and had a breakout season with the Bulldogs as an edge rusher who could still play inside. He had 33.5 tackles, six sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss.
"I had to lock in on myself and what was best for my team," Walker said. "I did everything in my power to transition my body for the better of the game to help me transition into the role of a starter in college football."
Still, Walker's rise to possible No. 1 pick wasn't on many NFL Draft mocks. After all, Georgia had All-American players on each level of its defense in defensive tackle Jordan Davis, linebacker Nakobe Dean and safety Lewis Cine. Those three made most of the headlines during the Bulldogs' national championship run, but Walker said the fact "there were no big egos who wanted to be the star player" was what made that work. Dean, Davis and perhaps Cine will all be first-round picks, too.
So what separates Walker now? An all-around performance at the 2022 NFL Combine didn't hurt. Walker finished second in the three-cone drill with a time of 6.89, second only to Michigan's Aidan Hutchinson. He ran a 4.51 in the 40-yard dash and a 4.32 in the 20-yard shuttle. Walker kept his cool on the surface, but he admitted to being starstruck during the interview process.
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"I was meeting with Bill Belichick and coaches I've always seen on TV and heard about being great," Walker said. "I cherished those moments."
"I wasn't trying to compete with anybody other than myself," Walker said of the Combine. "I take it as a practice moment. However long I practice for it, it becomes natural."
Walker also has the ability to be an edge rusher with the ability to drop down into a defensive tackle. While that's a plus, Walker believes he will make more of an impact as an edge rusher at the next level.
"I'll definitely be more comfortable at defensive end on the edge," Walker said. "That's the position I've always played. Everybody thinks just because they've seen me playing on the inside on third down that I was a defensive tackle. I've never been a defensive tackle. I've just played there because on third down you can get more outside linebackers on the edge."
Will that be enough to be taken ahead of other edge rushers such as Hutchinson and Oregon's Kayvon Thiboeaux? That's become an interesting piece of drama heading into the first round on Thursday. Georgia could have as many as eight defensive players selected in this year's draft, which is the ultimate recruiting tool for the program. Walker said his teammates don't dwell on that much, but conceded, "We're all counting down the days until draft night."
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Walker would be the fifth Georgia player to be selected No. 1 and the first since Matthew Stafford in 2009. It has been part of a dream year for Walker and a reminder that anything can happen in one draft cycle.
"It's definitely something to be grateful for," Walker said. "For a long time, ever since I've been at Georgia we've heard about Georgia getting all these five-star and four-star recruits and they're going to waste. Now you finally realize that once you stick to the course and things go as planned, great things happen. With all of the talent we have in this draft, especially on the defensive side, for me, it's something that I'm never going to forget. It's something that goes down in the history books in Georgia, and that means a lot to me because I'm from the state of Georgia."
Walker partnered with USAA, the Official NFL Salute to Service Partner, ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft, which is highlighting players with military upbringings. Walker's father Yury served in the Marines. "He was one who molded me into who I am today, it carried over to the football side. The partnership with USAA will be great for me."
Discipline, sacrifice & leadership are all military qualities that I’ve inherited from my father who served in the @USMC. Thank you to @USAA for allowing me to honor him and all our military’s service before I start my @NFL career with next week’s #NFLDraft #SaluteToService #USAA pic.twitter.com/TY9v2MAbcI
— Travon Walker (@44Ytw) April 22, 2022
