TRAVON WALKER

The Houston Texans got a division win on the road at the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Dameon Pierce's touchdown run was the only time someone found the end zone for either team.

Dameon Pierce ran for 99 yards and a touchdown, a score set up by the rookie’s 20-yard gain in which he broke six tackles, and the Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 13-6 to extend their winning streak in the series to nine.

APTOPIX Raiders Jaguars Football Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Marvin Hall (14) runs after a catch with Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Sam Webb (48) defending during the first half of the NFL football exhibition Hall of Fame Game, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022, in Canton, Ohio. (AP Photo/David Richard) (David Richard)CANTON, Ohio — (AP) — The Las Vegas Raiders gave coach Josh McDaniels a successful homecoming in his debut on their sideline. Josh Jacobs, rookie Zamir White and Austin Walter ran well on a rain-soaked field and the Raiders routed Jacksonville 27-11 in the Hall of Fame game Thursday night, spoiling coach Doug Pederson’s first game with the Jaguars. Top pick Travon Walker committed a roughing-the-passer penalty on Raiders backup QB Jarrett Stidham on the first play from scrimmage. REVENGE TOURFormer Raiders defensive end Arden Key got two sacks in his first game for Jacksonville.

Josh Jacobs and rookie Zamir White ran well on a rain-soaked field and the Raiders routed Jacksonville 27-11 in the Hall of Fame game Thursday night, spoiling coach Doug Pederson’s first game with the Jaguars.

This is the Pro Football Hall of Fame logo on the 50 yard line at Tom Benson Field before the Hall of Fame exhibition football game, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022 in Canton. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)The NFL returned on Thursday with its annual Hall of Fame Game to open the league's 2022 preseason, with the rising Las Vegas Raiders and rebuilding Jacksonville Jaguars meeting in Canton, Ohio. Here's everything you need to know about the closest thing resembling an NFL game we've seen since Super Bowl LVI. Hall of Fame Game delayed due to weatherAfter months of waiting for the NFL to return, football fans ended up having to wait a few extra minutes for kickoff. The 2022 Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio is currently in a weather delay.

Life at the top of the Southeastern Conference can be difficult, especially when anything short of a national championship in football is considered unsatisfactory.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File) (Darron Cummings)LAS VEGAS — (AP) — The Latest on the NFL draft. ___The first round of the NFL draft began and ended with the selections of former University of Georgia defenders. 26 in a trade with the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night and selected Florida State defensive end Jermaine Johnson II. The Week 2 matchup between AFC West rivals was announced on Thursday during the first round of the NFL draft. He handed Melissa Hutchinson the jewelry on Thursday at the Delano Hotel before hearing his name called at the NFL draft.

NFL Draft Football Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson celebrates after being selected by the Detroit Lions as the second pick in the NFL football draft Thursday, April 28, 2022, in Las Vegas. It's the first time in 31 years that no player on offense went in the opening five picks. But no quarterbacks, hardly a surprise in a draft rich with linemen, receivers and defensive backs. “He’s an athletic freak,” Georgia defensive coordinator Will Muschamp told The Associated Press. Another Georgia standout, defensive tackle Jordan Davis, was taken by Philadelphia at 13 after yet another deal, getting matters back to the defensive side.

In an NFL draft focused early on stoppers, it was the goers — wide receivers — who stole the spotlight Thursday night.

The 6-foot-5, 275-pound Walker joins former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence as the second straight top overall selection by the Jaguars.

The 6-foot-5, 275-pound Walker joins former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence as the second straight top overall selection by the Jaguars.

NFL Draft Football Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson celebrates being selected by the Detroit Lions as the second pick in the NFL football draft Thursday, April 28, 2022, in Las Vegas. Notable: The last time the Lions picked a player from Michigan in the first round was OL Jeff Backus at 18th in 2001. Last time the Texans selected a cornerback in the first round was 2015 (Kevin Johnson, No. Fact: Former five-star recruit seemed destined to be a first overall draft pick after freshman season, but between injuries and a shortened pandemic season he never put together a fully dominant year. Notable: Giants had not drafted a defensive end/edge rusher in the first round since taking Jason Pierre-Paul (No.

Five defensive players were taken in the first five picks of the NFL Draft, including three pass rushers, starting with Georgia's Travon Walker to Jacksonville first overall.

Travon Walker’s meteoric rise is complete.

Mock Draft Football FILE - Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker runs a drill during the NFL football scouting combine, Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Indianapolis. Walker is expected to be taken in the NFL Draft. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File) (Darron Cummings)JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — (AP) — Placing more emphasis on pro potential than college production, the Jacksonville Jaguars chose Georgia pass rusher Travon Walker with the top pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night. “He's an athletic freak," Georgia defensive coordinator Will Muschamp told The Associated Press. Once a two-sport star with NBA dreams at Upson-Lee High School in Thomaston, Georgia, Walker eventually settled on football and quickly became one of the most sought-after recruits in talent-rich Georgia.

The Jacksonville Jaguars chose Georgia pass rusher Travon Walker with the top pick in the NFL draft.

Very little is certain heading into an NFL draft.

If Stintley cracks the top 10, LSU will join Texas and Ohio State as the only colleges with five top 10 defensive backs in the common draft era. The only other times in the common draft era starting in 1967 that a skill position player didn't go in the top five were 1997 (Ike Hilliard, seventh), 1991 (Herman Moore, 10th), 1988 (Tim Brown, sixth), 1985 (Al Toon, 10th) and 1968 (Larry Csonka, eighth). That was one of 11 times in the common draft era that no QB went in the top 10. That would mark the 12th time a defensive end was taken first in the common draft era starting in 1967, second only to the 26 quarterbacks. COLLEGE RANKINGSSince the start of the common draft era, Ohio State and Southern California have produced the most top 10 picks with 72 apiece.

This year’s NFL draft has the chance to be unlike any other in recent years with a possible long wait before any of the players who throw, catch or run with the ball coming off the board.

Altogether, there are a combine-high 14 Georgia players at the league's annual gathering of top college players. Such are the spoils of knocking off Alabama (which has 11 players here) as the top dog in college football. Johnson's consolation for missing out on a national title is a likely top-20 selection in the NFL draft on April 28. “You carry yourself different when you're a winner.”Don't the Alabama players know that. “I’ve got a lot of respect for those guys,” Alabama defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis said of the Bulldogs at the Senior Bowl.

The Georgia Bulldogs are well-represented at the NFL scouting combine after winning their first national championship in over four decades.

CFP Championship Georgia Football Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean is greeted by a large crowd of fans as he and his teammates return to the Georgia campus, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022, in Athens, Ga., after defeating Alabama in the College Football Championship NCAA college football game. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) (John Bazemore)The NFL announced Friday that 73 underclassmen have been granted special eligibility for the draft, the fewest in the last nine years. The number of players granted special eligibility was down from 98 in 2021 and 99 in 2020. Before this year, the only time since 2014 the number of underclassmen entering the NFL draft with special eligibility fell below 95 was 2015 when the number was 74. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25.

The NFL announced that 73 underclassmen have been granted special eligibility for the draft, the fewest in the last seven years.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart told a near-capacity crowd at Sanford Stadium the Bulldogs don’t plan to wait another 41 years for their next national championship.

Kirby Smart learned from his former boss that the time for celebrating is short in college football.

No_ 1 Georgia and its top-ranked defense dominated Florida in the annual rivalry known as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party."

Some Southeastern Conference defenses are flexing their muscles after 2020 being a defensive coordinator’s nightmare.