Denver Broncos: DeMarcus Walker the forgotten guy on defensive line
DeMarcus Walker is a forgotten man on the Denver Broncos defensive line.
It was difficult for DeMarcus Walker to crack the Denver Broncos‘ defensive line rotation regularly early in his career, but Walker seems to recently be making the best of the chances he’s been given.
During Walker’s time in college at Florida State, he seemed to pack a lot more production in the backfield in terms of tackles for loss and sacks. Walker may not have been a scheme fit with the previous regime of Vance Joseph’s staff, but under Vic Fangio, Walker took every opening he had and won.
During his first season in Fangio and Ed Donatell’s defense Walker packed a ton of production into a campaign with limited action. In just a little over 200 snaps, Walker collected four sacks, 22 total tackles, five tackles for loss, and five quarterback hits. Let that sink in for a second. His low snap count qualified him as a role player with very limited action. Around 700-1,000 puts players in “starter” territory. There are a few exceptions.
Walker had more sacks and more tackles for loss than promising rookie Dre’Mont Jones.
Walker is a relentless pass rusher that has a high motor to get pressure. When he played under Joseph, his playing weight was less than ideal, but after it seemed Walker got down to the weight of his preference he played rather well in his short time on the field.
One area Walker seemed to do quite well was helping in run defense. There were times during the 2019 season Walker showed up in key moments when the defense needed a stop. This of course is what happens when lower snap counts occur. Walker never received the recognition he did in 2019 as a Mike Purcell or Alexander Johnson. However, Walker still played a pivotal role on the team.
The second-round pick from the Seminoles made a solid case for more playing time in 2020. With the emergence of Dre’Mont Jones and Walker, the Denver Broncos pass rush will be stout up front.
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Every single player on the Broncos roster will be improved as long as Fangio is calling the shots. Jones will get the talk and rightfully so, but do not sleep on Walker.