Grade the proposal: Jaguars trade Travon Walker to Eagles to continue rebuild

The Jacksonville Jaguars moved on from several players ahead of free agency to address the larger scale roster. Next, they'll need to acquire playmakers in the 2025 NFL Draft, and the more picks they have the higher their chances of coming out with a promising haul. This begs the question, should the Jags trade one of their young players in exchange for more selections? James Nagle of Pro Football Reference thinks they should.

Nagle proposes a trade where Jacksonville sends defensive end Travon Walker and a 2026 fifth-round to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for picks 64 (Round 2) and 164 (Round 5) in 2025, and a second-rounder next year.

So basically, the Jags are getting two seconds and getting a fifth-rounder next year in exchange for Walker. The Eagles, for their part, would be giving their defensive front a much-needed boost after the departures of Milton Williams and Josh Sweat in free agency.

From an Eagles standpoint, this trade makes sense, as they would be getting a pass rusher who's logged a combined 20.5 sacks the past two seasons and hasn't probably reached his ceiling. On top of that, Philly could pick up his fifth-year option and keep him at an affordable rate through 2026. That's a pretty good return.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars would continue to get future assets to continue their soft rebuild. Sure, the new regime hasn't used that word to describe their current plan, but the description fits when you consider that Jacksonville has a new coach and a new general manager.

Would the Jaguars trade Travon Walker to the Eagles for two 2nd-round picks?

No, plain and simple. Sure, two second-rounders are a better price than the measly fourth-rounder someone previously suggested in exchange for Travon Walker. That said, it's still not enough for an ascending player.

After all, the former Georgia Bulldog has progressively gotten better the past three years. A banner season in 2025 shouldn't be ruled out. On the other hand, he still hasn't become the player the Jacksonville Jaguars expected when they drafted him first overall in 2022. Make no mistake, Walker is a fine player but hasn't been nearly as dominant as expected. And while he's still hitting his stride, Aidan Hutchinson, drafted one pick after him, is already one of the best pass rushers in the NFL

Then again, it's too early to give up on Walker, especially when you take into account that he's barely entering his fourth NFL season and is set to have cap hits of $10.1 million and $11.8 million in 2025 and 2026, respectively. Maybe if the Thomaston, Georgia native weren't trending in the right direction, it would make sense to exchange them for picks, but trading him now would leave a massive hole in the Jacksonville pass rush.

As things stand, the Jags are missing a No. 3 in their rotation, and trading Walker would leave a massive void opposite Josh Hines-Allen. Granted, they could use one of their two second-rounders to find his replacement, but there's no guarantee they will given the uncertainty of the draft.

The bottom line is that two second-rounders would be nice, but not at the expense of Travon Walker. Think about it. If the Eagles wanted him badly enough to give up draft picks for him, it may be because the Jags have a pretty good player and should keep him around.

Grade: C

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