Draft records were falling all over the place for the Georgia Bulldogs on Thursday, starting most notably with Travon Walker over at The Battery Atlanta.
A junior defensive end from Thomaston, Walker was the first player selected in the NFL draft. He was chosen by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who had the first pick for a second consecutive year. That made Walker the fifth Georgia player in history to become the No. 1 pick in an NFL draft.
He joined running backs Frank Sinkwich (1943) and Charley Trippi (1945), receiver Harry Babcock (1953) and quarterback Matthew Stafford (2009). That ties Notre Dame, Oklahoma and USC for the most No. 1′s in NFL history.
“I was hoping it was going to be the Jaguars,” Walker said in a video conference call with reporters shortly after receiving the call on live television. “I promise you won’t regret it. I’m ready to work.”
Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis went 12 picks later to the Philadelphia Eagles, who traded up from 15th to get him. That made them the earliest two UGA defensive linemen were picked in the same draft. Richard Seymour and Marcus Stroud (No. 6 and 13 in 2001, respectively) previously held that distinction.
“(Davis) was tremendous for our program because he cares about it so much,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who was in Las Vegas along with defensive line coach Tray Scott and inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann. “He’s the leader of that front group and just a fun guy to be around.”
The biggest shock where Bulldogs are concerned came with the 22nd selection, when the Green Bay Packers took linebacker Quay Walker even before his Butkus Award-winning teammate linebacker Nakobe Dean was off the board.
A fourth Georgia player -- a school record for first-round picks in the same draft -- was selected when the Packers selected defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt. A graduate of Towers High School, Wyatt started all 14 games he played in this past season and finished with 39 total tackles, tops among interior linemen. The Bulldogs’ previous record for players selected in the first round of the same draft was three in 2018.
But Georgia did even one better when the Minnesota Vikings decided to pick safety Lewis Cine with the final pick of the first round. That was an NFL draft record for defensive players from one team all going in the first round.
» Getting to know No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker
» Jordan Davis selected with 13th pick in NFL draft
» Quay Walker selected with 22nd pick in NFL draft
» Devonte Wyatt selected with 28th pick in NFL draft
» Lewis Cine selected with 32nd pick in NFL draft
UGA was able to establish that record without Dean -- the captain of the Bulldogs’ incredible defense -- being selected. The Butkus Award winner was left sitting with his family in the green room in Las Vegas without getting picked.
The thinking is that Dean will get snatched up in Friday’s second round. He most certainly will be among a record number of Bulldogs expected to be drafted this year. The school record is nine from 2021. At least 10 other Georgia player remain on the board with draftable evaluations.
As for Travon Walker, he received the news he was No. 1 amid a large group of family and friends gathered at the Omni Hotel at The Battery Atlanta to watch the first round of the draft Thursday night. Walker answered the phone while sitting between his parents, Lasonia and Stead Walker, on a couch in a room along with his agents from Elite Loyalty Sports, his high school coach and dozens of family members and close friends. Afterward, the group joined more well-wishers in a terrace area of the hotel to celebrate into the night while the Braves played the Chicago Cubs nearby in Truist Park.
The Jaguars picked quarterback Trevor Lawrence of Cartersville last year, giving the state of Georgia the past two No. 1 draft picks. But while Lawrence’s selection was long anticipated going into the 2021 draft, Walker was an extremely late riser up draft boards.
Even as late as last week, the Jaguars were expected to take either Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson or one of at least two offensive tackles – North Carolina State’s Ikem Ekwonu or Alabama’s Evan Neal – to provide protection for Lawrence. Instead, Jacksonville went with Walker, who blew away scouts with an incredible performance at the NFL combine in Indianapolis in February and continued to impress teams with private workouts and interviews in the two months since.
Walker’s video from games this past season wasn’t too bad either. While some evaluators questioned Walker’s lack of overall production and playing time over the entirety of his three-year college career – he did not start until his junior year – he was a dominant at defensive end this past season on a defense that was considered among the greatest of the modern era.
Starting all 15 games, Walker collected 37 tackles, six sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, 36 quarterback pressures and two pass-breakups. Two of his sacks came in during the College Football Playoff, including a touchdown-saving run-down tackle of a wide receiver in the national championship game.
After running a 4.51-second 40-yard dash and getting measured as having 36-inch arms, 10-¾-inch hands and an 84-1⁄4-inch wingspan at the combine, teams became increasingly infatuated with Walker’s professional prospects.
“I told his parents, ‘You’re son is one of one,” said Vince Taylor, Walker’s agent from Elite Loyalty Sports. “There’s nobody like him in college football with his combination of intangibles and height, weight, size and playing all over the line. … I told them, ‘our goal should be to be the No. 1 pick.’ That’s what my eyes told me, and my gut.”
Hutchinson, by the way, went with the very next pick to the Detroit Lions. In fact, with LSU cornerback Derek Stingley, Cincinnati corner Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux going in the next four picks, it was the first time since the 1991 draft that the first five picks went to defensive players.
Walker was the 16th defensive lineman to be selected first in the draft, the third-most of any position behind quarterback and running back in the event’s 87-year history.
In Jacksonville, a lot of the attention on Walker’s selection was placed on a car accident he admitted to having “about a week and a half ago.” Described in some reports as a “serious accident,” Walker described it as “just a little fender-bender, nothing crazy” and said he wasn’t hurt.
Walker’s father, Stead Walker, is retired from the U.S. Marine Corps, and his mother, Lasonia, is a hospital receptionist. He also has a brother and two sisters. Along with extended family, friends and teammates, more than 100 people attended Walker’s draft party as the Braves played the Cubs close by.
According to last year’s salary distribution, Walker’s first NFL contract likely will be worth close to $40 million, with as much as $25 million coming in signing bonus, which is guaranteed.
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