Against the Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos second-year player DeMarcus Walker could be a key chess piece for Joe Woods.
The Denver Broncos have a huge matchup this weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Broncos are in pursuit of a playoff spot or, at the very least, they are playing and coaching for their jobs. One player who has yet to consistently find his way as an NFL player is second-year defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker.
Walker typically makes a couple of plays anytime he’s active for the Broncos, but hasn’t yet found an every-down niche in the NFL and has been a healthy inactive for the majority of his two NFL seasons.
With Shaquil Barrett’s recent injury, that could change as soon as this week for Walker, who could end up playing a pretty huge role against the Bengals.
Walker could end up being a valuable chess piece for Joe Woods and the Denver defense, as he plays a specific role within the defense that could be effective against this Bengals team.
The Bengals are trotting out young quarterback in Jeff Driskel who has very little in-game experience in the NFL. The Broncos have a good enough defense that they could really rattle Driskel early and often in this matchup.
Denver’s edge rush duo of Von Miller and Bradley Chubb is second to none in the NFL, but who is going to be getting the interior pressure?
As good as the Broncos’ defensive line is with Derek Wolfe, Domata Peko, Shelby Harris, Adam Gotsis, Zach Kerr, and others, they haven’t really produced a ton when it comes to recording sacks. As a matter of fact, all of those players have combined this season for 4.5 sacks total.
It’s hard to fathom there isn’t a spot for Walker as a three-technique on obvious passing downs, and in this game, the Broncos might need him to collapse the pocket from the inside out as the edge rushers do their work against some inexperienced tackles (Cordy Glenn is doubtful, Jake Fisher placed on IR this week).
The combination of young offensive tackles and a young quarterback should equal a huge opportunity in the middle with the edge rushers likely to attract double teams and interior players left in one-on-one situations.
Driskel is going to be looking to take off with the pressure coming off the edge, so the Broncos can use a lot of their delayed stunts to throw him off and this is a game where someone with Walker’s specific skill set could really feast.