Georgia’s Travon Walker is an exciting defensive lineman who offers rare athleticism and versatility along the defensive front. Walker, a former 5-star recruit and high school basketball star, has been a mainstay for the Bulldogs in his three-year career but has taken his game to the next level as a junior. Walker has outstanding size and length for the position and pairs those attributes together with rare athleticism.

As a pass rusher, Walker displays rare get-off and explosion off the snap. He can easily win edges and shoot through gaps with his explosive and quick-twitch movements. He flashes very good power at the point of attack and has a terrific long arm, which he utilizes to knock back and shock offensive tackles. Walker primarily wins with quickness and speed-to-power as a pass rusher, failing to show consistent hand counters and secondary rush moves. In the run game, Walker sets a firm edge with a strong lock-out and anchor. He has outstanding lateral pursuit and consistently makes plays across the line of scrimmage or down the field with excellent effort. He struggles to get off blocks at times and can be slow tracking the football.

All in all, Walker has rare athletic upside with position versatility but needs to develop into more of an impact player to warrant as high of a pick as his athletic traits suggest.

Ideal Role: Versatile defensive lineman who can win as an edge or along the interior.

Scheme Fit: A multiple front scheme that is willing to move him around the LOS to create advantageous matchups.

FILM EVALUATION

Written by Brentley Weissman 

Games watched: Clemson (2021), Kentucky (2021), Alabama (2021)

Best Game Studied: Kentucky (2021)

Worst Game Studied: Alabama (2021)

First Step Quickness: See Above.

Flexibility: Walker is a fluid athlete who can change direction in space with little wasted movement. I don’t consistently see an ability to bend the edge nor turn tight corners to get home to the quarterback, but I also don’t think he is an overly tight player. He needs to continue to win the edge, turn the corner, and get home to the quarterback to show that he is worthy of a high selection.

Hand Counters: See Above.

Hand Power: Walker possesses a fast and violent punch that consistently knocks back opposing offensive linemen. Walker’s ability to shock offensive linemen with his hands is outstanding and one of the ways he wins in both phases. While he needs to clean up hand placement at times, his power is very evident.

Run Defending: See Above.

Effort: A high-motor player, Walker plays with excellent effort overall. You see Walker fight to the whistle every play and work to uncover when he is blocked. He makes a ton of plays late in the down and always hustles backside to make tackles down the field.

Football I.Q: Being asked to play multiple roles in a very complex defense, Walker shows good overall football IQ and ability to recall assignments. There are times he is late to locate the football and also needs to improve reading blocking schemes.

Lateral Mobility: An outstanding overall athlete, Walker displays excellent lateral mobility. He is quick to cross the lineman’s face and his ability to jump gaps is very impressive. He is quick, agile, and very light on his feet. He is often asked to drop into coverage, where he shows great ability to play in space for a player his size.

Core/Functional Strength: Walker is a powerful player at the point of attack, displaying knock-back power at the line of scrimmage. In both phases of the game, Walker uses his strength and power to his advantage. As a pass rusher, he displays excellent bull rush, long arm, and speed-to-power. In the running game, he sets a firm edge and also knocks back blockers to disrupt the mesh point.

Versatility: Walker aligns everywhere along Georgia’s defensive front. He plays 1-tech, 3-tech, and rushes off the edge. He has shown he can play any position with success, but I actually believe his lack of time at one singular position has hurt his development a bit. Ideally, he is used in one role at the next level so he develops the finer nuances of the position.

SCOUT GRADES

TDN Consensus: 86.42/100 (First Round Value)

Crabbs Grade: 87.00/100

Marino Grade: 87.50/100

Harris Grade: 84.00/100

Sanchez Grade: 89.00/100

Weissman Grade: 84.50/100

Parson Grade: 86.50/100