Jacksonville Jaguars select Georgia Bulldogs DE Travon Walker No. 1 overall in 2022 NFL draft

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Travon Walker played his best when the stakes were the biggest and followed that up with an impressive performance at the scouting combine — and now he is the top pick in the NFL draft.

The Jacksonville Jaguars used the No. 1 pick on Walker on Thursday night, and they are counting on the former Georgia defensive end to be a key part of turning around one of the NFL's worst franchises.

The Jaguars have lost 10 or more games in 10 of the past 11 seasons and have made just one playoff appearance since 2007. It's the second year in a row the Jaguars have had the No. 1 overall selection — they picked quarterback Trevor Lawrence first overall in 2021 — and they're still reeling from former head coach Urban Meyer's dysfunctional 11-month tenure.

Walker played his best football of 2021 during the College Football Playoff. He had 10 of his 29 pressures in the two games, including a season-high seven in Georgia's title game victory over Alabama. He had sacks in each game, giving him a career-high six in 2021, after having only 3.5 sacks in his two previous seasons combined.

Walker played the majority of his snaps at defensive end last season and was a key part of the Bulldogs' rush defense, which ranked second in the FBS in allowing only 2.6 yards per rush.

The 6-foot-5, 272-pound Walker turned heads at the combine with a 4.51-second 40-yard dash, which was the fastest among all front-seven players. He also posted a 35½-inch vertical leap and a 10-foot, 3-inch broad jump — numbers that helped him shoot up teams' draft boards.

Walker should immediately help a Jaguars pass rush that was among the NFL's worst over the past two seasons. They totaled 50 sacks — including just 18 in 2020 — during that stretch, which