2022 NFL Mock Draft: Panthers, Steelers, Lions All Take QBs In Round 1
By Evan Bachman
2. Detroit Lions: Travon Walker, EDGE, Georgia
Nobody has skyrocketed up draft boards quite as much as Travon Walker. After a historic combine, Walker has launched from a mid-to-late first round prospect to what seems like a top five lock at this point and in this 2022 NFL mock draft scenario he’s the second player off the board.
Walker’s combine performance was historically good as at 6-foot-5, 272 pounds he clocked a 4.51 40 yard dash and a 6.89 3 cone. Those two numbers are absurd for someone of his size and cements himself as one of the most athletic edge rushers to enter the NFL in recent memory.
The knock on Walker however is that he hasn’t shown that he can rush the passer at a high level consistently yet. Last season at Georgia he recorded 34 pressures on 381 pass rush snaps. This means he recorded pressures on just 8.9% of pass rush snaps, which for context is significantly lower than edge rushers like Hutchinson (17.4%) and Thibodeaux (16.6%).
One thing Walker has shown at Georgia is that he can defend the run. Most notably on this play where throws the pulling lineman out of the way and just completely blows up this play.
The bet whoever drafts him will be making however is that he’ll develop as a pass rusher as he certainly has all the tools to be an elite pass rusher, he just hasn’t shown it yet.