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Travon Walker is never satisfied.
After inking a major long-term contract extension with the Jacksonville Jaguars worth over $100 million, Walker remains the same physical monster on the field, and mild-mannered human away from it. There's been no bravado for Walker, no talk of his extension beyond the immediate press conference that followed putting pen to paper.
Walker is all about football, and feels he has plenty to prove after an injury-riddled season derailed a lot of his production in 2025. At one point in the season, Walker was dealing with a severe knee injury, but played on it with just a brace. Walker almost forgot that injury.
“To me it feels 100 [percent]. So, yeah. I about forgot about it, so we’re good," Walker said with his vintage smile moments after the team completes Organized Team Activity No. 4.
JAGUARS OTA NO. 4 OBSERVATIONS: Jacksonville Jaguars secondary, depth stands out in fourth OTA
But Walker's biggest injury from last season is still top-of-mind as he works to improve his grip strength. During the team's Week 4 win against the San Francisco 49ers last year, Walker sustained a broken wrist that required surgery.
Though he missed just one game before returning to the lineup, Walker played with a club, in various stages, on one wrist/arm for 10 out of 14 regular season games he played last season. He's close to full strength in that department, he said.
“Very close, very close. I'm looking pretty good out there, but like I said, I'm always going to be very critical of myself. I can still obviously grab and tug a little bit more, but it's feeling good," Walker explained, but cautioned that there is no magical "hurdle" for him to get over to have success. He's always striving for greatness.
"I'm still emphasizing, sharpening, getting deeper into my pass-rush bag and even continuously playing the run even better. So, it's always going to be something that I have to improve on every day," Walker added.
Though everyone has opinions on where Walker should lineup, whether it's at defensive end or inside next to Josh Hines-Allen at tackle, the fifth-year DL doesn't have an issue about where he plays — though, he has asked himself the same question before.
“Sometimes I ask myself that as well, but for me, I really don't care, man. Like you said, I'm a team guy, so I want to be in any position wherever they put me to be able to help the team and I feel like wherever they put me at on the line, no matter where it's at, I feel like I can dominate whatever position it is," Walker said.
"So, I just want to come in at practice and work on whatever, wherever it is that they put me.”
Walker continues to be one of the team's most valuable players entering his fifth season in the NFL after being drafted with the first-overall pick.
On Monday, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen complimented Walker's approach to this year's offseason. Still, the head coach wants Walker to further add to his toolbox.
"I still want him to, when he is in those situations and settings, just go. That's something we want to continue to see. Look, we were number one rush defense last year for a reason. He was a huge part of that," Coen said. Jacksonville ranked first against the run last season, allowing just 85.6 yards per game on the ground.
"Now it's like, alright, we’ve got to be able to stop the run at a high clip and rush the passer as well at a high clip, which is not going to be fully seen right now. But I've been very pleased with the competitor in terms of the way he's approached it," Coen added.
Walker finished the season with just 3.5 sacks, primarily due to injuries. Still, he was one of the best run defenders in the NFL last season. With a new contract and higher expectations for the defense overall, Walker will be a major influence on the team's pass rush this year. Jacksonville finished with just 42 sacks last year.
Jaguars coaches ran Walker through mock game evaluations throughout the spring of future fall opponents and then watching himself, too. It's something Coen said Walker is trying to improve.
In his career, Walker has played in 63 games (60 starts), totaling 200 tackles (101 solos), 36 tackles for loss and 27.5 sacks. Walker posted back-to-back years with 10-or-more sacks in 2023 and 2024. His pass-rush ability is there, but now it's time for him to unlock it further.
"I think he's in a place where it's like, ‘Alright, they like me,’ and not just that, ‘Do they like me? Do they not?’ I think he knows that he's somebody that we want to have here for a while and it's like, dude, just now let's go be you and just go let it rip and cut it loose," Coen said.
"And hopefully we'll see more of that when we get the pads on and he can actually go play.”
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky at Demetrius.
If you're a subscriber, thank you. If not, please consider subscribing to support local journalism in Northeast Florida.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' Travon Walker works on grip strength, playing fast after 2025
Continue reading...
After inking a major long-term contract extension with the Jacksonville Jaguars worth over $100 million, Walker remains the same physical monster on the field, and mild-mannered human away from it. There's been no bravado for Walker, no talk of his extension beyond the immediate press conference that followed putting pen to paper.
Walker is all about football, and feels he has plenty to prove after an injury-riddled season derailed a lot of his production in 2025. At one point in the season, Walker was dealing with a severe knee injury, but played on it with just a brace. Walker almost forgot that injury.
“To me it feels 100 [percent]. So, yeah. I about forgot about it, so we’re good," Walker said with his vintage smile moments after the team completes Organized Team Activity No. 4.
JAGUARS OTA NO. 4 OBSERVATIONS: Jacksonville Jaguars secondary, depth stands out in fourth OTA
But Walker's biggest injury from last season is still top-of-mind as he works to improve his grip strength. During the team's Week 4 win against the San Francisco 49ers last year, Walker sustained a broken wrist that required surgery.
Though he missed just one game before returning to the lineup, Walker played with a club, in various stages, on one wrist/arm for 10 out of 14 regular season games he played last season. He's close to full strength in that department, he said.
“Very close, very close. I'm looking pretty good out there, but like I said, I'm always going to be very critical of myself. I can still obviously grab and tug a little bit more, but it's feeling good," Walker explained, but cautioned that there is no magical "hurdle" for him to get over to have success. He's always striving for greatness.
"I'm still emphasizing, sharpening, getting deeper into my pass-rush bag and even continuously playing the run even better. So, it's always going to be something that I have to improve on every day," Walker added.
Though everyone has opinions on where Walker should lineup, whether it's at defensive end or inside next to Josh Hines-Allen at tackle, the fifth-year DL doesn't have an issue about where he plays — though, he has asked himself the same question before.
“Sometimes I ask myself that as well, but for me, I really don't care, man. Like you said, I'm a team guy, so I want to be in any position wherever they put me to be able to help the team and I feel like wherever they put me at on the line, no matter where it's at, I feel like I can dominate whatever position it is," Walker said.
"So, I just want to come in at practice and work on whatever, wherever it is that they put me.”
What's next for Jaguars DL Travon Walker?
Walker continues to be one of the team's most valuable players entering his fifth season in the NFL after being drafted with the first-overall pick.
On Monday, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen complimented Walker's approach to this year's offseason. Still, the head coach wants Walker to further add to his toolbox.
"I still want him to, when he is in those situations and settings, just go. That's something we want to continue to see. Look, we were number one rush defense last year for a reason. He was a huge part of that," Coen said. Jacksonville ranked first against the run last season, allowing just 85.6 yards per game on the ground.
"Now it's like, alright, we’ve got to be able to stop the run at a high clip and rush the passer as well at a high clip, which is not going to be fully seen right now. But I've been very pleased with the competitor in terms of the way he's approached it," Coen added.
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Walker finished the season with just 3.5 sacks, primarily due to injuries. Still, he was one of the best run defenders in the NFL last season. With a new contract and higher expectations for the defense overall, Walker will be a major influence on the team's pass rush this year. Jacksonville finished with just 42 sacks last year.
Jaguars coaches ran Walker through mock game evaluations throughout the spring of future fall opponents and then watching himself, too. It's something Coen said Walker is trying to improve.
In his career, Walker has played in 63 games (60 starts), totaling 200 tackles (101 solos), 36 tackles for loss and 27.5 sacks. Walker posted back-to-back years with 10-or-more sacks in 2023 and 2024. His pass-rush ability is there, but now it's time for him to unlock it further.
"I think he's in a place where it's like, ‘Alright, they like me,’ and not just that, ‘Do they like me? Do they not?’ I think he knows that he's somebody that we want to have here for a while and it's like, dude, just now let's go be you and just go let it rip and cut it loose," Coen said.
"And hopefully we'll see more of that when we get the pads on and he can actually go play.”
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky at Demetrius.
If you're a subscriber, thank you. If not, please consider subscribing to support local journalism in Northeast Florida.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' Travon Walker works on grip strength, playing fast after 2025
Continue reading...
