Travon Walker, top overall pick in 2022, delivers a breakthrough performance for the Jags

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Travon Walker’s breakthrough performance came on a day the Jacksonville Jaguars allowed 447 yards and 24 fourth-quarter points.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft — the guy taken ahead of Detroit Lions star Aidan Hutchinson — had three sacks in a 37-34 victory against Indianapolis on Sunday. Walker dropped Joe Flacco for a 17-yard loss on the final play, ending any chance the Colts had of completing a comeback.

He also had a strip-sack at the end of the first half that set up a field goal. Walker now has five sacks in five games, a solid start after he had 10 sacks in 2023.

“Man, that was awesome,” teammate Josh Hines-Allen said. “These are the moments that I tell Travon that you’re capable of having each and every game if you stay committed to what you’re doing, beat the guy in front of you and win your one-on-one. You’re capable of having a game just like this every single time.”

The Jaguars have been waiting for Walker to go from promising to dominating. He’s flashed at times and looked stout as a run-stopping defensive end on first and second downs. But the next stage of his development has been becoming a versatile pass rusher capable of winning with different moves.

He looked the part against the Colts (2-3), who rallied late. Indianapolis scored two quick touchdowns in the final five minutes to tie the game at 34. Flacco connected with Alex Pierce for 45 yards to set up Trey Sermon’s 1-yard score and then found Pierce for a 65-yard touchdown two minutes later.

Trevor Lawrence took over from there and put Jacksonville in position for rookie Cam Little’s 49-yard field goal with 17 seconds left.

Flacco got one more shot, but Walker dragged him to the turf on second down.

“I was trying to win every rep, every block, fight to do right, that is what Coach was emphasizing with us on the defensive side of the ball and that is what I was trying to do,” Walker said. “Just fight to do right.”

Walker said he put it on himself to dig the Jaguars out of an 0-4 hole to start the season.

“Someone had to step up,” he said. “Today, it was just me making those plays. We got to continuously be consistent, and everyone played a big effort in that.”

Walker is clearly confident in his abilities. He hates the constant comparisons to Hutchinson and has openly talked about a gold jacket — the one reserved for Pro Football Hall of Famers.

The 6-foot-5, 272-pound defensive end seems superhuman at times. Blessed with a rare combination of size, strength and speed, Walker had a game-changing interception in his NFL debut and had three quarterback hits in two postseason games as a rookie.

But he was mostly inconsistent in between. Walker finished with just 3 1/2 sacks in 15 regular-season games, falling well short of top-pick expectations.

He made strides in Year 2 and really showed up down the stretch. He had at least one sack in each of Jacksonville’s final four games last season. But he always came up short of getting that third one — until Sunday.

“It feels great,” he said. “It’s just a mind thing. For me, I am a power rusher so that’s how I come into every game regardless of who it is. I don’t care. I am trying to play mind games with you and go from there.” ___

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Mark Long, The Associated Press