3 reasons Jaguars’ Travon Walker enters delicate situation in rookie year

3. Jaguars DL Travon Walker’s stats might not live up to the hype in 2022.

The thing is, Walker will likely not blow up the stat sheet, which could draw ire from Duval. His contributions will be things that show up on tape and not necessarily in the box score. Looking back, this shouldn’t surprise Jaguars fans. Hutchinson had 14 sacks. Walker only recorded six. Sack numbers can be deceiving at times, but by far they’re the “sexiest” defensive stat, which certainly leads to discontent among Jaguars fans.

Unfortunately, there’s going to be tons of pressure on the number one pick in a scenario where Hutchinson flourishes as an NFL pass rusher. If those sacks pile up, criticism will start to creep in. However, Walker’s impact will be felt on the defense as a whole, perhaps even on others’ stat sheets.

The unfair prospect of all this is that both players have different skill sets and aren’t identical players. The issue will arise from the draft order. Realistically speaking, it will be a couple of years before Walker’s selection can be properly judged. He’ll need to quickly improve in many areas, but others on the Jaguars should benefit from his addition. As the 2022 season progresses, the Walker-Hutchinson comparison will be revisited.