If you’re even vaguely familiar with the NFL draft and its annual televised broadcast, then you probably understand at this point that the Philadelphia Eagles and general manager Howie Roseman really, really likes picking defensive players from the University of Georgia.
It’s a well-earned reputation. Across the 2022 and 2023 drafts, the Eagles picked 5 defensive players from Georgia’s back-to-back national championship teams, including all 3 of their first round picks.
Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department thinks that trend will continue in 2025, projecting the Eagles to take Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker in the first round (No. 26 overall) in their latest mock draft.
From Bleacher Report: “All jokes aside about the Philadelphia Eagles drafting another member of the Georgia Bulldogs, Jalon Walker would provide defensive coordinator Vic Fangio with a chess piece who can play off-ball linebacker, work off the edge and attack from numerous alignments. His trigger and quickness when working downhill are staggering and generally overwhelming for opposing offenses. … Walker has also showed the ability to drop in coverage and make a play or two in space.”
From N.C. Prep Star to CFP National Champion
Walker was the No. 1 rated high school prospect in North Carolina as a senior at Salisbury High and won a College Football Playoff National Championship as a true freshman at Georgia.
He led the Bulldogs with 5.0 sacks despite not playing primarily as an edge rusher or starting a game in 2023 and is having a breakout season in 2024 with 35 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 19 QB pressures and 2 fumble recoveries through the first 8 games.
Walker cemented his status as a first round pick in a 30-15 win at No. 1 Texas on October 19 with 7 tackles, 3.0 sacks and a fumble recovery. According to ESPN, it was the first time a player had 3.0 sacks and at a least 7 tackles against a No. 1 team in 20 years.
Philly’s Recent History of Taking Georgia Stars
If there’s an argument to be made against the Eagles taking another Georgia player in the first round of the NFL draft, you only have to point at those 5 players they’ve taken in the last 3 years.
None of them have exactly set the world on fire. Out of the 5 players, none have made an NFL All-Pro Team or Pro Bowl — that includes three first-round picks in defensive linemen Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis and linebacker Nolan Smith.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. currently has Walker, 6-foot-2 and 245 pounds, ranked as the No. 10 overall prospect for the 2025 draft.
“Walker gets into the backfield as if he were shot out of a cannon, and his bend and explosion off the edge help him beat blockers and get to the quarterback or ball carrier,” Kiper Jr. wrote. “He’s a versatile defender, with experience both as an off-ball linebacker and a pass rusher. His sideline-to-sideline speed gets your attention when you watch the tape. In Week 8 against Texas, he picked up three sacks.”
Walker also comes from a football family. His father, Curtis Walker, was the head coach at NCAA Division II Catawba College for 10 seasons after previously serving as the defensive coordinator at Coastal Carolina and Western Carolina.
