The Detroit Lions hoped to have solved their need for an edge rusher to support star Aidan Hutchinson during the offseason when they signed veteran Marcus Davenport in free agency.
However, that plan went by the wayside after Davenport suffered an elbow injury in Week 2 that is expected to knock him out for the remainder of the 2024 season.
Because of that, ESPN's Ben Solak has proposed a trade between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Lions that has Detroit landing former No. 1 overall pick and edge rusher Travon Walker, who was taken with the pick right before Hutchinson.
The deal sends Walker to Motown in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick.
The Jaguars got their first win of the season Sunday and may still be subtracting when the trade deadline comes. Walker, the first overall pick in 2022, has had two splashy games this season and three complete blanks otherwise. He still hasn't quite figured it out with the Jaguars, but he has done enough (five sacks this season) to still fetch a solid pick or two in return.
I know how the Lions would use him: a big base end mashing against the run and pushing the pocket opposite Aidan Hutchinson (who incidentally was taken one selection after Walker in that '22 draft). That was the plan for Marcus Davenport, who was lost for the season with a torn triceps in Week 4. And John Cominsky, who was supposed to be a key rotational player, is also out for the year (knee). The Lions are worryingly thin at defensive end.
The Jaguars are off to a 1-4 start to the season, so it's quite possible they become sellers at the trade deadline. However, it remains to be seen if they would part with the young edge rusher when he still has two more years left on his deal, assuming Jacksonville picks up Walker's fifth-year option.
If the Jags are willing to part with Walker this year, the Lions should be all over it, especially if a pair of fourth-round picks is all it takes.
As we previously stated, Walker will be under contract for two more years after this one once his fifth-year option is picked up, so the Lions would have a long-term solution in Walker, who would provide a massive upgrade.
Walker's career got off to a slow start in 2022, but since then he's tallied 15 sacks in his last 22 games, including 10 in 2023 and five in five games in 2024.
