Denver Broncos admit DeMarcus Walker is playing the wrong position
The Denver Broncos admitted that rookie DeMarcus Walker is playing out of position, and for a really poor reason at this point…
The Denver Broncos have been a trainwreck over the past five weeks, and adding to the frustration has been the rookie treatment of second round pick DeMarcus Walker.
Many weren’t on board for the Walker pick initially, despite his ridiculous production at Florida State. Walker was somewhat of a ‘tweener’ coming out of Florida State, listed as a defensive end but doing his best work from the defensive interior, where he was able to utilize his quickness to get past guards and centers and get to the quarterback.
Walker became a master of making plays behind the line of scrimmage, but wasn’t ever necessarily a traditional ‘edge bender’ like we have seen from Von Miller and Shane Ray.
Walker’s game is based on quickness, power, and strong hand usage, so when the Broncos decided to put him at the outside linebacker position after a couple key injuries (Ray, Shaquil Barrett), it was very confusing.
At training camp, Walker was spending a lot of extra time with Miller, getting help with his technique and truly learning the position for the first time.
The question is, why?
Why not just sign a veteran, or sign someone who has played outside linebacker to replace the injured starters?
Defensive coordinator Joe Woods admitted that Walker is not an outside linebacker on Wednesday:
Joe Woods says DeMarcus Walker is ideally meant to be on the defensive line rushing the passer from the inside. Says he needs to get bigger
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) November 16, 2017
This is something we’ve known since Walker came out of college, and obviously so have the Broncos. Did it really take them trying to fit a square peg in a round hole to understand it, though?
The Broncos are also forcing Walker to become a better special teams player before putting him on the field.
DeMarcus Walker "won't dress until he plays better [special] teams, Joseph said.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) November 1, 2017
This is really, truly unbelievable. The Broncos have asked Walker to play a position he’s never really played before on a full-time basis, and now they are asking him to get his act together as a special teamer, and it’s possible he’s not being properly utilized there either.
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Walker blocked a number of kicks while at Florida State, but you can’t block kicks or even try if you’re not dressing for games. Do the Broncos want Walker to be on punt coverage? Wouldn’t he — at his size and speed as a defensive lineman — be a liability there anyway?
Perhaps this is just a lot of other frustration boiling over, but Walker could be providing the Broncos with a presence on the interior as a third down rusher. The Broncos simply haven’t tried it yet.
It’s likely Walker will have to spend the offseason gaining (good) weight and getting ready for another different role next year, as his rookie season has been wasted with a coaching staff trying to put him in a position they thought he could succeed instead of just putting him in a place where he has had proven success.