Best Scheme Fit: While he
could play well in man- or zone-blocking schemes, his combination
of high-level vision and acceleration through the hole makes him
a natural fit for the outside zone scheme run by most of the coaches
from the Mike/Kyle Shanahan coaching tree.
Best Team Fit(s): Chargers, Dolphins, Falcons,
49ers, Jets, Texans
Non-bolded times - Good examples of attribute Bolded times - Average/poor examples of attribute
Pre-Draft Fantasy Prospect
Grade* (out of 50): 42.5
* - How well does his skill set carry over
to the fantasy game? For running backs, a player needs to be a
three-down option as well as a realistic threat for 1,000 rushing
yards and 500 receiving yards to be a candidate for a perfect
grade. Positional scarcity at the pro level is also a part of
the equation.
Positives
It takes patience and excellent vision for a running back to be
a good cutback runner, which is what Walker is. He routinely punished
college defenses that did not maintain good gap integrity. What
makes him different from most is his ability to anticipate the hole
correctly just about every time and accelerate through it, quickly
shifting into second gear while also usually gouging the defense
for one of his many explosive runs. (Walker led FBS with 30 runs
of at least 15 yards in 2021, per Pro Football Focus). Not all contact
is created equal and Walker does a fine job of making sure defenders
do not get a chance to square him up in the open field. It is the
main reason why he led in college football with 1,168 yards after
contact and 89 missed tackles forced last season, per PFF. Walker
also runs efficiently (very little in the way of unnecessary steps)
and protects himself when he expects contact inside (drops his shoulder
and squares up his defender), which helps to explain how he handled
his first year as a workhorse back without showing signs of wearing
down and valued the ball last season (one fumble on 276 touches).
Negatives
Being a powerful runner and running with power are not always
synonymous. Walker runs with power, but there are just too many
examples of him failing to churn out extra yards on hard inside
runs despite his gaudy yard-after-contact numbers. It suggests he
lacks the lower body strength to move the pile on inside runs consistently
at this point of his career. While his 211-pound frame should theoretically
help him hold up to the punishment he should expect to receive in
the NFL, his tendency to run angry may make him a bit of an injury
risk at his size. His ability to contribute as anything more than
a safety valve in the passing game is a mystery in large part because
he was rarely used as a receiver by either program he played for
(Wake Forest and Michigan State), although he did accumulate 64
catches during his high school career. There is reason to believe
he is at least adequate as a receiver, but the point to be made
is that it is an unknown now. His pass-blocking is below-average
and borders on awful (or indifferent) at times.
Bottom Line
Walker will be a scary proposition for defenses regardless of
where he lands, but his skill set is perfectly suited for a team
that relies on outside zone as a staple of its run game. Much like
Mostert, the Wake Forest transfer has a good chance to pay a visit
to the end zone any time defense fails to set the edge. It is my
opinion that his run-after-contact production last year is a bit
inflated due to his heavy usage (eighth in FBS with 263 carries)
but also indicative of the type of contact he draws (rarely ever
squared up) and his explosiveness (again, 30 runs of at least 15
yards in 2021.) For all of the credit he gets as a physical runner,
Walker gets stood up too often in between the tackles to consider
him a power runner. He also suffered a bit from the traditional
college thinking that running backs are often afterthoughts as options
in the passing game. He seems to be a capable receiver at the very
least, but it seems very likely the combination of his inexperience
in the passing game and inability/unwillingness to stick his nose
into a defensive lineman or linebacker as a blocker means he will
begin his pro career as a two-down back. There is potential for
much more, but he is probably at least a year or two away from being
a true three-down back.
--- Predict
the top ten picks of the NFL Draft for a chance to win FFToday prizes.
Enter our NFL Draft Contest
now. Doug Orth has written for FF Today since 2006 and been featured
in USA TODAY's Fantasy Football Preview magazine since 2010. He
is also a high-stakes player who often appears as a guest analyst
on a number of national sports radio shows, such as Sirius XM’s
“Fantasy Drive." Doug is also a member of the Fantasy
Sports Writers Association.
Predict
the top ten picks of the NFL Draft for a chance to win FFToday prizes.
