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By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: Coming out of high school, Walker was rated as a four-star recruit after being a standout defensive line and offensive lineman. Walker played four games as a freshman and then took a redshirt for the year. In 2019 as a redshirt freshman, Walker became Penn State’s starting left tackle. The shortened 2020 season saw the Nittany Lions play nine games, but Walker excelled and continued his streak. As a junior, he remained the starting left tackle, but he had ugly performances against Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan. Walker should have returned to school to improve before going to the NFL, but he decided to skip his senior year to enter the 2022 NFL Draft.
Walker immediately passes the eyeball test with his mammoth size. The 6-foot-6, 320-pounder has an excellent combination of height, length and weight. To cap off the skill set, Walker is a good athlete for a big edge blocker with quality quickness. While Walker needs some development, the skill set is there for him to be a good pro.
Right now, Walker’s run blocking is ahead of his pass protection. He has the strength and size to overwhelm defenders in ground game. There are plays where he fires into the chest of defensive lineman and knocks them backward to blast open holes. Walker’s power lets him ride defenders back and knock them out of their gaps. With smooth movement in space and quickness to the second level, he is not just a plodder as a run blocker. Walker also gets physical, and he will finish off defenders with violence on occasion. He has a a good play demeanor and is not a big softy or finesse offensive lineman.
As a pass blocker, Walker is quick out of his stance and achieves depth swiftly. Walker’s mass and length cause defensive linemen to need more steps to get around him, buying his quarterback more time to get the ball out. With his size and mass, Walker does well against bull rushes because he is able to sink his hips to stonewall, but that happens when his hands are placed well. When his hands get too wide, he is vulnerable to bull rushes. Walker also can be late to react to speed around the corner, getting caught flat-footed. Walker flashes the quickness and athleticism to cut off the edge from speed rushers, but he has to get more consistent and needs to improve technique.
Walker is prone to bending at the waist too often, and that leads to him having issues with sustaining blocks. He needs to improve his technique to bend at the knee because his waist bending leads to him lunging after defenders. Hand placement is another area of improvement, as he can get too wide on defenders, which allows them to break free from his block easier. Along with avoiding bending at the waist, Walker must improve his feet and get more consistent at playing the typewriter with his feet to cut off the edge. If Walker can get his feet to move more and grow more nimble, he will be a much more effective pass blocker. Often Walker starts out a play well, but he doesn’t sustain his block because of the technique issues and that leads to him giving up sacks, pressures, and hits – see the Ohio State games in 2020 and 2021.
If Walker develops his technique, the skill set is there for him to be a potential starting offensive tackle in the NFL. He could be a late first-round candidate in the 2022 NFL Draft and could easily go in the second round. Walker should not slip past Round 3.
Player Comparison: Donovan Smith. Walker reminds me of Smith coming out of Penn State. Smith had some growing pains in pass protection, but he emerged as a steady and dependable left tackle in the NFL. Walker has that potential. If he works hard and gets quality coaching like Smith, Walker could turn into a similar-caliber left tackle.
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2022 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s
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