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Travon Walker heard his head coach loud and clear when Liam Coen brought up Aaron Donald’s name during their end-of-season sit-down.
Coen wasn’t saying Walker’s already playing like Donald – one of the best defensive linemen to ever do it. He was telling Jacksonville’s young pass rusher to start preparing and practicing the way Donald did throughout his career.
That message landed.
“It’s just like taking my game to another level,” Walker said after signing his four-year, $110 million extension on Saturday. “Obviously, he’s seen Aaron Donald. He was on the team with Aaron Donald. So it just kind of helped put things in perspective for me to be able to just click it to a different type of mindset from how I was going throughout the year.”
Walker’s been solid since Jacksonville took him first overall in 2022. He’s racked up 27.5 sacks, 200 tackles, three forced fumbles and 57 quarterback hits across 60 games. Not bad for a guy who’s still finding his way as an edge rusher after playing mostly inside at Georgia.
The production’s been there – 10 sacks in 2023, then 10.5 the following year.
But 2025 was rough. Wrist and knee injuries held him to just 3.5 sacks this past season.
“And I feel like it really clicked [and] dawned on me that it’s just time to ramp things up, take it to the next level,” Walker said.
Following their season-ending conversation, Coen explained what he meant by the Donald comparison. It wasn’t about raw talent – Walker’s got plenty of that. It’s about the daily approach that separated Donald from everyone else during his time with the Los Angeles Rams.
Donald won Defensive Player of the Year three times. Made eight All-Pro teams and 10 Pro Bowls as a defensive tackle.
“We literally had to take [Donald] out of practice in order for us to gain yards on offense,” said Coen, who spent four years with the Rams as an offensive assistant and served as their offensive coordinator in 2022. “And so if you want to get where you want to go and where we want you to go and where you can go, I need to be taking you out of practice so that we can operate on offense.”
Coen wants that same kind of disruption from Walker. The kind where the offense can’t function unless he’s on the sideline.
“I want that kind of destruction and mindset and mentality,” Coen added. “Habits. Not talent. It’s just habits. Elite habits, elite practice, preparation, game preparation, those habits and the way that you practice on a day-to-day basis.”
Walker’s got his own term for how he needs to play moving forward.
“Pure dominance.”
The extension includes $77 million guaranteed, with $50 million fully guaranteed at signing. Walker doesn’t have to worry about his next contract anymore – he’s locked in long-term with Jacksonville.
“It’s just time to go play ball now,” he said. “I don’t have to think about none of that.”
