There are many intriguing aspects of being a journalist who grew up a Philadelphia Eagles fan, one who now covers that same team for a living. One is you’re never void of parallels and lines you can draw. Some are overused. Yes, we’re just as tired of hearing about the ‘tush push’ as you are.
If you’re like most, you’re probably also fatigued with the constant discussion about ‘another former Georgia Bulldogs star joining the squad’. Philly also has an Alabama pipeline. How come we don’t discuss our Philly Tide as much?
Don’t worry fellas. We’ve got you covered!
Yes, friends… This current run of success has a lot to do with their being so many former Bama and UGA stars on the roster, so ‘just when we thought we were out on this, they pulled us back in’!
Regardless of how hard we try, we just can’t stop
Okay, we said we were fatigued by the Philly Dawgs narrative. We didn’t say we were moving off of it. As hypocritical as that may sound, we understand the value of a good story.
Philly has stocked its young core with former stars of Georgia’s program: Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Kelee Ringo, Lewis Cine, and newly acquired Azeez Ojulari who joined the nest by way of free agency.
Seemingly, the best course of action is to address Philly’s needs at edge rusher by way of the NFL Draft. The Birds added two pass rushers less than a week apart, but how can one ignore the rumors of a phenomenal young talent’s potential availability even though he plays the same position?
Suddenly, an Eagles acquisition of Travon Walker seems rather interesting.
Rumor mills churn pretty heavily at this time of year. The Jacksonville Jaguars reportedly aren’t listening to offers for Travon Walker’s service, but that hasn’t stopped the rumors from multiplying.
If nothing changed between now and the 2025 NFL Draft (where the Eagles are expected to take a pass rusher anyway), they still have quite a few on the active roster after Josh Sweat’s exit and Brandon Graham’s retirement.
Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari are the aforementioned free-agent acquisitions. Nolan Smith enters his third season. Jalyx Hunt enters his second.
Bryce Huff was signed last year during free agency. K.J. Henry is another of the new additions.
Come on. You aren’t slightly interested in the potential of the Eagles adding Travon Walker? Here are a few reasons why the idea makes so much sense.
The versatility to play in multiple fronts
Travon Walker is a six-foot-five, 272-pound monster from UGA’s program. He was also the first player taken during the 2022 NFL Draft.
One of the things that makes him most dangerous is his versatility. He can play standing up as an outside linebacker in the 3-4 defensive front, or he can play with his hand in the dirt as a 4-3 defensive end.
He also plays the run well. That was something Bryce Huff couldn’t do which landed the latter in Fangio’s doghouse.
Yes, the pun was intended.
The affordable price tag
Walker enters the fourth year of his rookie contract signed in 2022. That makes him much less expensive than exploring options that previously mentioned Myles Garrett, Trey Hendrickson, or Micah Parsons.
He counts as an $11.8 million cap hit next season. Also, with him being a first-round selection, there’s a fifth-year option built into his deal which, if exercised, makes him a free agent during the 2027 NFL offseason.
Philly has decent room in terms of cap space. We have also seen the cap rise as the NFL has become more successful.
Philly will soon need to think about paying some of their young players (Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Cam Jurgens, Jordan Davis). Still, if anyone can execute this type of trade and make the numbers work, it’s Howie Roseman. We’ve seen him do it too many times to bet against him.
The familiarity with current young Eagles defenders
So, here we are again. We keep trying to find ways to spin the Georgia angle. Why bother? Besides, his familiarity with former teammates is a good thing.
One of the first points Azeez Ojulari mentioned in his introductory presser was he’s still close to his former teammates while being the closest to one Nolan Smith.
That may not sound like much, but it matters. We’ve seen the chemistry these guys share off the field translate to practice and gameday. It wouldn’t take long at all for Travon Walker to find his footing.
The production
Some of Walker’s work has gone unnoticed as the Jacksonville Jaguars play in a small market. You’ve missed a treat if you haven’t treated yourselves to a few Jags games.
Walker is already a star, but so far, he hasn’t earned any postseason accolades despite notching ten sacks or more during the past two NFL seasons.
Now, if he did that for the Dallas Cowboys, he’d be an All-Pro. Our question is this though.
Who believes the Eagles wouldn’t benefit to adding ten more sacks to their ledger during the NFL’s regular season?