Don't expect the Aidan Hutchinson and Travon Walker debate to end anytime soon.
The most spirited debate of the 2022 NFL Draft centered around the pass-rushing duo. Would the Jacksonville Jaguars want the proven thing at No. 1 in Hutchinson, or the athletic player deemed a "project" in Walker?
Jacksonville ended up swinging for the fences for Walker, who produced 3.5 sacks in his rookie campaign and has seen his sack total increase to nine in 2023.
As for Hutchinson, who recorded 9.5 sacks as a rookie and has 9.5 sacks in 2023, he landed at No. 2 overall. This was despite him expecting to be a Jaguar for much of the draft process.
"I was lit. Because I was told I was going to Jacksonville for about three months in that pre-draft thing. And then a week before the draft, my agent called me and said I was going to Detroit," Hutchinson said on the St. Browns Bros Podcast, hosted by The 33rd Team. "They said my arms were like an inch too short."
With Walker nearing double-digit sacks in his sophomore season, and with Hutchinson leading the Lions' pass-rush in one of the franchise's best seasons, it is fair to say that neither team is exactly complaining almost two years later.
"Travon, you just see the gradual improvement and you’re seeing him move around a little bit more on the front. Games and stunts," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said about Walker this week.
"The game is evolving, he’s a young player that continues to learn and to see him where he’s at and what he’s done this year, I think the sky is the limit still for him. I know Josh has made the comment that hopefully Travon breaks his record. I think he’s on the right track to possibly do that at some point.”
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