Travon Walker now the betting favorite to go #1?
https://www.on3.com/teams/michigan-wolverines/news/aidan-hutchinson-nfl-draft-odds-detroit-lions-travon-walker/
First, it was Kayvon Thibodeaux going number 1 overall.
Then, it was one of the big OT's.
Then, it was Aidan Hutchinson.
Now, in a frenzy, it is Travon Walker flying up the odds boards.
So, what have you? Why all the sudden has Travon passed both of the previous elite edge rushers? Are his testing numbers actually better than Kayvon and Aidans?
As far as Hutchinson, part of my wants Aidan to go number one as it adds more to Michigan's resume in regards to player development. Part of me wants him to go to Detroit because i think he is the best player in the draft and can help take Detroit to the playoffs for many years.
April 25th, 2022 at 12:10 PM ^
Found this nuggest on the ESPN story about this, which says quite a bit:
"Ultimately, at the end of the day, Baalke gets the final call, which is why Walker is currently the overall favorite go No. 1," a PointsBet spokesman told ESPN on Monday.
So, this appears to be happening because people believe he'll be picked #1 by the actual team picking #1, which seems like a good reason to predict that to me.
What does it mean? Look closely at the quote: The decisionmaker is Trent Baalke.
I don't think this means anything about Aidan; honestly, the pressure is pretty high when you get picked #1 and people tend to evaluate those picks unfairly. If Aidan turns out to be an elite NFL player, it won't matter that he wasn't #1 overall.
And I would suspect that it's probably just as well for his future that he doesn't go to Jacksonville.
April 25th, 2022 at 12:18 PM ^
and Baalke is a complete idiot.
April 25th, 2022 at 12:37 PM ^
Fortunately for them that it's impossible to lose money in the NFL because they love employing incompetents like Baalke
Hey, my cousin may be a little bit odd and non-traditional, but . . . OK, he's an idiot.
He was awesome in True Romance!
...but yeah, definitely still an idiot.
Second only to his performance in Beverly Hills Cop
He even spells his name funny.
April 25th, 2022 at 12:30 PM ^
I don't get it. Walker is athletic sure but he was like the 5th or 6th best player on that Georgia defense and still didn't have great production. Feels like an unnecessary galaxy brain move that's trying to be too smart.
But at the end of the day Id be thrilled if Aidan goes to the Lions. It'll give me a reason to watch on Sundays
It's because of the elusive "high ceiling" factor. Aidan has already hit his and Walker hasn't, according to some
Bite your nose to spite your face.
I guess this is Baalke's way to "Own Harbz," first hiring Urban and now not picking Hutch. It's been a solid strategy to head right to the unemployment line.
I'm all for it. Imagine Urban Meyer having another losing season at Jacksonville because Balke wants to dis Harbaugh. Wait... What's that you say? Urban isn't coaching anymore... He did what? Oh my....
I read that same article from ESPN and the first half of it states that the odds were rearranged after a ton of money came in either for Walker or against Hutchinson for the 1st pick. I also have a hard time believing these stories about Baalke preferring Walker over Hutch. I can see it happening but teams are often trying to throw smoke before the draft to get other teams to bite on it and make a mistake.
For now I'll continue to believe that Aidan is the 1st pick while quietly hoping and praying for this article to be right about Baalke. Aidan is the kind of guy the Lions need desperately. Perfect character on top of all the production and measurables. He's the kind of guy that can turn a franchise around just like he did with Michigan.
why throw smoke when you have the top pick though?
Exactly! lol
Try to get someone to trade up? Not exactly sure but that's the most likely reason.
Doesn't seem to work in this case, there are multiple solid prospects that are DEs, and this is a case of Jacksonville taking a guy that's a riser but a long way from the only worthwhile guy to take at that spot.
I don't think much of Baalke but there's no strategic play here. The Lions are not going to hand over, say, a second rounder to trade up a spot because Walker is the only guy they want.
April 25th, 2022 at 10:17 PM ^
It would make sense for them to trade away the 1st pick, but as you point out, there’s probably no incentive for another team to trade up. The lack of elite QBs in this class is hurting Jacksonville even though they don’t need a QB.
In a normal year, they would be able to turn this pick into an elite pass rusher + another high pick. Now all they’ll get is an elite pass rusher. That’s nice, but for a team like Jacksonville, they need very break they can get to be competitive.
April 25th, 2022 at 12:11 PM ^
Walker is a better athlete than Aiden, but not necessarily a better prospect. He's a big boom or bust kind of player. His lack of production at Georgia is a big red flag but could also be a product of the other players on the line vs the position he was asked to play (similar to Rashan Gary). Hutchinson is also an excellent athlete by his own rights, but if both hit their best, Walker is likely to be a better player.
Kayvon is also an excellent athlete, but he has some effort concerns and his impact in Oregon really faded last year. Oregon's best win was against OSU and Kayvon didn't even play in that game.
I may be biased, but I like Hutchinson to have the best career out of all them, because he's a force and relentless. He just needs good supporting pieces around him to maximize his impact on the defense. Jags, Lions, and Texans are all terrible franchises but Lions seem to be making some moves that seem positive so hoping that Hutchinson ends up there
April 25th, 2022 at 12:33 PM ^
Is Trayvon a better athlete? Aidan is doing things in the weight room and drills that haven't been done before.
April 25th, 2022 at 12:40 PM ^
They're both freaky good athletes. Just going off RAS scores, Hutchinson's agility is better than Walker's. But Walker is faster in straight line speed and marginally more explosive at more weight than Hutchinson. Again all of that means nothing when it actually comes to playing ability which is where game tape is important and where Hutchinson has the edge over both other DE prospects
April 25th, 2022 at 12:44 PM ^
Aidan Hutchinson had the same 10 meter split, better 3-Come, better short shuttle, better vertical and a worse broad jump. In fact, Hutchinson's had the third-best 3-cone and second-best short shuttle amongst ALL PLAYERS who tested.
Basically Walker is faster between meters 10-40 but maybe not the better athlete.
In addition to the testing scores, Aiden ate OSU’s “NFL caliber” OT’s alive. When test scores are similar, give me the guy who produced against the same type of player he will be up against in the NFL.
In addition to the testing scores, Aiden ate OSU’s “NFL caliber” OT’s alive. When test scores are similar, give me the guy who produced against the same type of player he will be up against in the NFL. [Crap, not sure how that got posted twice.]
Exactly! Agility athleticism is measured in change of direction and explosion. The broad jump vs 3 cone drill and short shuttle doesn't show much. A bit better explosion could be said by Walker by the broad jump and faster 40 time yet the 3 cone and short shuttle speaks to better athleticism by Hutch. Player production speaks far better to Hutch. Esp in this metric. Walker played next to 2 high draft picks at DT/NT one possibly both in the 1st round one a definite top15 pick who was generationally good in Jordan Davis, ie 350lbs running a 40yd dash in 4.7 seconds and clearly the most dominant player on Uga's dline.
Production on the field, Walker next to Davis made it very difficult to double Walker without him being able to make the offense pay. And yet, he didn't. Given who was on the defense around him and the production he didn't have, wow. How is he going to play when he doesn't have the most dominant DT next to him and the protection slides his way? We know what Hutch did, we watched him call for osu's tackle to slide it his way when he audibled protection....
Dude playing on UGA's d-line with elite ends 4 draftable DT's, Elite LB's and DB's really makes your life easier. Hutch was the primary game planning piece which teams tried to avoid and he STILL dominated. Don't give me this SEC crap. I want Hutch to go to the Lions so I can buy his jersey but to act like this Walker dude is all of a sudden the elite guy is baffling. He was maybe the 4th guy you plan around playing UGA?
April 25th, 2022 at 12:46 PM ^
Someone didn't follow the combine or look at what Next Gen Stats (https://twitter.com/NextGenStats/status/1500297532114706432?s=20) said about Aidan's athleticism scores. Walker has better straightline speed (40), but Aidan bested him (taller, too) in the agility drills.
Walker was, for sure, the more highly rated guy in high school, etc.
Only knock one can have on AH is that he only bloomed in this last year...but he was behind a bunch of NFL guys and was then injured the covid year.
I don't care for either team at 1 or 2, but I'd like him to not play the Bears twice a year until we have an offensive line. However, if he does go to the Lions...I hope he has a HOF career on a bad team.
April 25th, 2022 at 12:53 PM ^
Hutchinson showed flashes in 2019 and was dominating in 2020 before injury.
AH has been making big time plays since 2019! In fact, one could make the argument that without DT's that could hold the POA Hutch had played great when teams knew to double team the edges against Don Brown's defense. This was a major issue in 2019. It was known yet some how Chase, Gary and Kwitty Paye still were high draft picks! The indiana/osu game plan was double the edges every pass down to limit them knowing the DT's couldn't push the pocket or hold the POA on run or rpo...
Hutch broke tackles this year. Kicked Osu's tackle out of the 1st round..
I am a 44 year die hard Lions fan (is there any other kind?).
Hoping that the Lions will be bad is like hoping that fire will be hot - it is a given. Agreed on hoping that Aiden has an HOF career!
i've said it 1,000 times. lions fans (like me) should have a group session for recovery: 'hi my name is [state you name] and i'm a lions fan....'
If they are going to split hairs in athletic ability, give me with the #1 pick, the guy who will be the face of the franchise, the leader in the locker room and in the community.
April 25th, 2022 at 12:12 PM ^
It's Trent Baalke pulling the strings as the GM in Jacksonville, so Michigan/Harbaugh hate would not surprise me in the least.
My first thought. He’s so Tom Petty that he is going to hurt his team just to attempt to get the last word in the Jim argument. Just another fool, sipping on the Hatorade.
April 25th, 2022 at 12:14 PM ^
Jags need a Olineman not a DE.
April 25th, 2022 at 12:25 PM ^
Despite the hype, not sold on QB for them either
Lol okay bud.
April 25th, 2022 at 12:15 PM ^
I hate nfl draft season so much.
Not sure why this got negged, if thousands of people as uninformed as me arguing over 0.1s difference between 40's, 3-cone, & etc doesn't drive you mad, not sure what will
April 25th, 2022 at 12:20 PM ^
Let Baalke take someone other Aidan at #1. I'd kinda like Hutch to land in Detroit.
Of course, with the #2 overall pick, the Lions will likely take something stoopid, like another TE or a deep snapper.
(I'd have said safety, but that is entirely too real to contemplate...)
April 25th, 2022 at 12:37 PM ^
Matt Millen says WR
April 25th, 2022 at 12:47 PM ^
I was trying to contain my sadness/fear/anger to the Martin Mayhem era, thank you.
Jags or Lions, seems like lose lose imo. I felt bad for TLawrence having to go to the Jags... I was going to feel bad for Hutch either way. Those two teams are just bad, poorly ran organizations.
These "Ha Lol Lions are so bad" jokes are all the same and are getting old. Can we at least be more original with Lions jokes? Getting tired of the same old stuff in every Lions thread and I doubt I'm alone.
It is hard to create original "lions suck" material becuase they've sucked for so long.
Sure it's not original and maybe tiring to some, but we're gonna get the Same Ol Stuff as long as they're the Same Ol Lions. You're welcome to be optimistic but it goes without saying the Lions are in rare territory of generational dysfunction
You guys have lost faith. You just don’t understand the NFL. It’s a league designed around parity.
The rules establish that every team should have success every five decades or so.
April 25th, 2022 at 12:23 PM ^
Many would love to see him go to Detroit so even if he isn't the #1 pick, he probably would be better off going to Detroit as they aren't as much of a basket case as the Jaguars are right now.
Either way, he's going to get a nice paycheck.
April 25th, 2022 at 12:24 PM ^
The Lions should spend no time on the clock and take Hutchinson. The talent differential if any will be very small, but what the Lions NEED desperately is a continuation of a culture change and Aidan brings that quality in spades as we saw last year.
Editorial Sidenote: The need for not only talent level, but a culture and professionalism investment from teams is going to become increasingly prevalent throughout all sports. Getting the best "player" is not what it used to be . . . looking at you Brooklyn Nets!