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After a slow rookie season, Travon Walker came on strong, posting back-to-back double-digit sack seasons. He’d become just the second Jaguars player ever to accomplish the feat, alongside Calais Campbell.
Following those two strong seasons and a strong opening to the 2025 season, collecting two sacks through the team’s first three games, Walker would go down with a wrist injury that would plague him for the rest of the season, in addition to a knee injury suffered later on.
What was looking like a third consecutive 10+ sack season from Travon Walker ended in just 3.5 sacks. He noticeably wasn’t the same player. That said, this might be the time for the Jaguars’ front office to strike while the iron is cold before his price tag climbs next season.
That begs the question, what would a Travon Walker contract look like?
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From an analytics stand point, the Kansas City Chiefs’ George Karlaftis is our closest player comparison and actually was in Walker’s 2022 Draft class. Both have played nearly the identical amount of games and their stats are pretty similar.
Travon Walker has played in 63 games in his career, collecting 27.5 sacks and 36 tackles for loss, while Karlaftis has played in 65 games with 30.5 sacks and 34 tackles for loss. That’s about as close as any two players can get.
Excluding their rookie seasons and viewing their stats on a per game basis, Walker is averaging 0.52 sacks per game, 3.41 pressures per game, and 1.74 defensive stops per game.
Conversely, Karlaftis is averaging 0.58 sacks per game, 4.55 pressures per game, and 1.76 stops per game.
Karlaftis has proven to be a more consistent pass-rusher, but Walker’s ability to defend the run shouldn’t be overlooked. He’s among the best in run-defense. Walker finished ninth in Run-Stop
% (9.4%), according to Pro Football Focus. For reference, Karlaftis finished 43rd among the Top-127 edge rushers at 6.9%.
Last July, George Karlaftis signed a four-year, $93 million contract, a deal that included $62 million guaranteed. The base deal is valued at $22 million per season which can increase via incentives. His $22 million APY ranks 14th among edge rushers in the NFL.
Karlftis’ contract probably provides Walker and the Jaguars with a pretty good baseline. Part of the reason the Jaguars may want to look to get this deal done is to open up some cap space as the team is currently $13 million over the cap and Walker’s cap hit sits just north of $15 million in 2026.
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