After finishing the season the way they did, it's easy to be pessimistic about the future of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The year before this last one was magical, as it saw a playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers in a season where they had no business being in the postseason.
So, naturally, everyone thought it was only up from there, especially seeing that the Jaguars would get Calvin Ridley, too. But it was worse. The Jaguars went from 8-3 to first place in the AFC to missing the playoffs, and it was all self-sabotaged by the way they were playing.
So, like we said, it's easy to be pessimistic if last year wasn't what it was supposed to be. However, sometimes you have to stop and smell the flowers. Sometimes, you have to think about the great players the Jaguars have on the roster. Sometimes, you have to think about the polarizing guys, too - the ones who are freakishly athletic and only getting better.
That guy is Travon Walker, who made a huge jump this last year and is only getting better. He is polarizing, so much so that one prospect who will soon be a rookie raved over him.
"Definitely Travon Walker. Going against him my freshman year when I first got there, just little freshman me, I was skinny," Georgia tight end Brock Bowers said. "And he was on the other side of the ball in 6-tech and just banging on it. It was awful," Bowers said on Pro Football Talk Live. "And he was the freakiest dude I think I've seen come through there."
Some people are forgetting all of the young guys on the Jaguars' roster who are only going to get better. This team was very young last year. The Jaguars were the ninth-youngest team in the league this last year, according to Philly Voice, with an average age of 25.6. The Green Bay Packers were the youngest team, with an average age of 25.0. That just puts into perspective how young this team was and still is.
Walker is young and is a guy who will only continue to get better every year, as we saw the huge jump he made this last year. Bowers saw him up close and personal every day in college. Think about all of the freak athletes we have seen go through Georgia, and yet Bowers said Walker was the "freakiest" of them all.
This team is going to be in good hands.
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