Agree 100%. I’m still shocked Watt dropped in that draft. NFL.com had him graded at 7.50 coming out. I don’t believe they have anyone In this draft graded over 7.0.
Ziggy
1 Like
Fair points. But considering he had seven pressures in that game, and that every game this year, they played him all over the line, I would contend that the assertion ‘they moved him because he didn’t generate sacks against Neal’ is misleading
Also, I think the characterization of ‘eating his lunch’ is inaccurate. What I saw was two elite players going toe to toe. The analyst also seemed to be slanting his analysis to Neal. Some of these battles that he says Neal ‘won’ he was getting bull rushed and the pocket was collapsing. Here’s what I saw, along with the narrators analysis:
Rep 1 - Walker drives Neal five yards back with a bull rush and the QB releases quickly with Walker tearing by and coming right in the QB grill. analysis ‘good rep from Neal’
Rep 2 - Offense runs away from them. Walker disengages the block to run down the line. analysis ‘inconsequential rep’
Rep 3 - Walker throws Neal down the ground immediately. The QB gets rid of the ball quickly. analysis ‘definitely a win for Walker’
Rep 4 - Play action away from Walker. They were engaged for about a second before Walker disengages. It was a quick pass. analysis ‘Neal wins the rep’ Looked like a wash to me
Rep 5 - Walker pushed Neal back six yards, flushes the QB, tosses Neal aside (while being held) and gets a QB hit as the QB scrambles and tosses a weak option pass. analysis ‘good recovery from Neal’ (wtf)
Rep 6 - Probably Neals best rep so far. He pushes Walker back a few yards while the rest of the GA defense collapses and tackles the RB for no gain. analysis ‘definitely a win for Neal’ This is one of the only times I see Walker lose ground while engaged.
Rep 7 - Designed run to Walkers gap. Walker swim moves past Neal, penetrates forcing the RB to abandon that gap and run for the edge. Walker sealed that gap and if Neal wasn’t holding may have had a TFL. The play goes for minimum yardage with the LBers converging. analysis ‘win for Walker’
Rep 8 - Walker crashes in and drives Neal back to collapse the pocket but it’s a designed QB keeper for a TD around the edge. analysis ‘beautiful best rep of the game for Neal’ (seems a bit gushy for a block that lost ground)
Seat Geek commercial (Promo code ‘Giant because Evan Neal is a giant’) no bias there
Rep 9 - Bullrush and Neal gets pushed back into the QBs face who has a quick throw dialed up. analysis ‘definitely a win for Walker’
Rep 10 - TE chip double team. quick pass. analysis ‘this rep doesn’t mean much’
Rep 11 - Quick slant. The ball is out immediately, they engage briefly. analysis ‘good rep for Neal’. Seemed inconsequential
Rep 12 - Quick sideline pass away from Walker. Walker burns Neal and blows by him. analysis, definitely a win for Walker
Rep 13 - Walker bull rushes and collapses the interior pocket. Neal stays engaged. The QB scrambles out of the pocket. analysis ‘good rep for Neal’
It seems to me having watched it closely Walker got the better of Neal more often than not. In any case I wouldn’t say Neal ‘ate his lunch’. Certainly didn’t see Neal pancake him the way we saw Hutch get pancaked by Sayler
1 Like
https://twitter.com/dpbrugler/status/1480904860040056832?s=20&t=s3pJdeg6uI0PKHxB-7hO7w
It’s been a while but I don’t remember Ziggy moving this fast. Maybe because he was always hurt
Travon Walker played a 51% snap share on the season…
Aiden Hutchinson played 1,891 career snaps over 4 years… He has 18.5 sacks… That is 1 sacks per every 100 plays…
Travon Walker has 9.5 sacks in just over 950 career snaps… Also 1 sacks per 100 snaps…
I would argue that Walker was on a trend where losing some talent around him at Georgia and being a senior would have likely resulted in 800 or so snaps next year, and likely 8-10 sacks.
Consider Hutch played in 7 more career games with a much higher snap share, and has 8 more sacks…
So we need the Hutch predominantly lined up to rush the passer, and T Walker did not. We know that Hutch did almost NOTHING until his senior season, and Walker hasn’t played a full season of PT, let alone his senior season.
Walker was on the all SEC Freshman team, and he did dominate in the BCS playoffs as junior…
If he came back and played a full year next year without so many guys fighting for his snaps, then I think we’d be looking at the same athletic freak, same ideal frame, but now with a 10 plus sack season on his resume’
1 Like
.
.
So… the UofM v UGA game was 1/1/22.
.
.
.
.
and then there is @Thats2 …. in November…
.
.
.
.
Just didn’t want you to feel lonely there by yourself… 
Yeah, I can’t read. He said before the Michigan game and I was thinking the combine.
I did not call for him before the Orange Bowl.
1 Like
Hey … I still gave you props recently for pounding the table for him before the combine. 
Id go so far as to say I was in the ‘definitely not’ Walker camp until I started diving in a few weeks ago. I didn’t think a late first projected pick before the combine had any business being considered at number two
But the football IQ, character, measurables, tape etc….I’d be happy with taking him at 2. Id still prefer Hutch and Thibodeaux. But Hutch will likely be gone. And Thibodeaux is a weirdo…
Not to toot my own horn or anything but i was talking about Walker as well…
…earlier today, in this thread. 
1 Like
Well you know besides Hutch missing a yr with a broken leg, and behind guts like Kwity Paye and Josh Uche.
Hutch had a top pressure rate right behind KT, can actually set an OT up, has several moves in his arsenal, and is terrific with his hands, and has more sacks in 1 yr than Walker in his collegiate career, and is a freak athlete himself.
I swear, see a great 40 in they underwear olympics and suddenly he’s on par with the consensus best player in the draft.
He’s not, and it’s not close. I get the argument for KT over Hutch, that makes some sense. Walker, not even a little. I have KT behind Hutch, Hutch is far more polished than KT, and ill take Hutchs ability to string moves together and his hand fighting ability paired with his love of the game and non stop motor. Walker doesnt belong in the conversation with them or JJ.
2 Likes
agree. Hutch is way more polished. He’s still DE1 for me. But the fear is he’s playing at his ceiling and has alligator arms. Walker has the athleticism and freakishly long arms. There’s just a higher ceiling there
The thing is you have to project a ton. He has no rush skills to utilize and struggles in 1 in 1, a 11% pressure rate for a fast, strong guy with no bend in 3 yrs, at a top program like UGA, is more than worrying. He isn’t a guy you draft at 2, he’s a guy you might gamble on at the end of the 1st or early 2nd.
Sorry, as to Hutchs ceiling. I agree he’s closer to it, but he still has room to grow. With his love of the game I think he surely will max out his potential. Walker is yrs away from even doing what Hutch does now, even KT has a ways to go.
1 Like
I don’t disagree. But that’s what ‘higher ceiling’ means, it’s inherently a projection. And I don’t think anyone in their right mind would disagree that Walker has the highest ceiling out of any defense of lineman in this class
1 Like
LOL, not to be argumentative, but I do. KT has the highest ceiling. He has some bend at the top of the arc, he’s not Quinn, but he has a little gumby to him. Walker is stiffer than Hutch
3 Likes
I don’t know. I mean how is that measured? 3 cone? Thibodeauxs 3 cone was the worst of the lot. And in fact pretty poor for a potential top pick
Watch him at the top of the arc, his ability to get under and lean to get by the OT. Walker doesn’t, Hutch has a little, but KT is the
Athletically Walker is the freak of the group. He’s got a lot of Myles Garret to him just not the stats lol.
definitely seems to be a disparity between bend on highlight films and bend as measured via the 3-cone
I suppose I’d defer to film. But then I flash to Tabors ‘watch the tape’ mantra after the combine
I’d feel a lot better about Thibodeaux, (character aside) if he had run under a 7 in 3 cone. Then what we see could be verified via testing