Joe Walker
Posted: June 27th, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 106 Comments »The Eagles drafted LB Joe Walker in the 7th round. At the time, I hadn’t watched enough of him to have a thorough opinion. Since the draft I have gone back and re-watched several games, including his 15-tackle performance against USC. I am a lot more comfortable with Walker as a general prospect and Eagles fit since then.
Walker was a 2-year starter at ILB in Oregon’s 3-4 scheme. He was a STer and key backup prior to that. Walker was a good college player, but not great. He finished with 207 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 FRs and one INT. He was productive, but only a limited playmaker. Walker wasn’t invited to the Senior Bowl or the Combine. He did boost his stock with a strong showing as his Pro Day. Per Gil Brandt:
Linebacker Joe Walker — 6-2 3/8, 236 — was not at the combine. He ran the 40 in 4.56 and 4.58 seconds. He had a 37 1/2 vertical and 10-foot-4 broad jump. He did the short shuttle in 4.31 seconds and the three-cone drill in 6.81 seconds. He performed 23 reps on the bench. Walker could be a sixth- or seventh-round selection in the draft.
Those are terrific numbers. Brandt later listed Walker as one of his draft sleepers. For some perspective, Patrick Willis was 6-1, 242. He ran 4.56, jumped 39 inches and did 22 reps. Willis was a substantially better player, but it is impressive that Walker is that kind of an athlete.
One of the first things that jumped out at me from Walker’s game tape is his tackling. He tries to wrap up his targets and generally goes for the legs. Some LBs try to hit targets to deliver a blow. Walker is a tackler and that’s what you prefer from the MLB. Punishing runners/receivers is a good thing when you are the second defender on the scene, but the primary focus should always be getting the player down.
Walker was protected by Oregon’s front for the most part. All LBs have to take on blockers here and there. Walker can shed blocks, but loves to avoid them using his movement skills. That wasn’t a huge issue in college. It would be more of a factor in the NFL. If you duck away from a blocker and the RB cuts to the other side of the O-lineman, you’ve taken yourself out of the play. Walker has the arm length and upper-body strength to engage and shed blockers. I’m sure that’s something the coaches will focus on in Training Camp. Walker isn’t shy about contact. He will stick his nose in and help shut down inside runs. He is a solid run defender.
I was impressed with Walker as a pass defender. First, he is comfortable playing in space. Some LBs panic a bit when they get out wide or down the field. They want the comfort of being in the tackle box and surrounded by traffic. Walker did something that DeMeco Ryans used to do very well. Walker would hit receivers in their route to try and throw them off. In the NFL, Ryans could only do this in the first 5 yards. College let Walker do it anywhere, as long as the ball wasn’t in the air yet. By hitting the receiver, you can knock him down and take him out of the play completely or throw the timing of the route off. Either way, that’s smart pass defense.
Walker gets good depth on his pass drops. When he’s covering someone man-to-man, Walker can get in the guy’s hip pocket and stay tight. When he’s in zone, Walker will keep things in front of him and then attack when the ball comes that way. I saw one play where he lined up over the slot receiver and covered him tightly until the ball was thrown elsewhere.
Oregon at times would move Walker up on the LOS in some Nickel/Dime looks and then have him blitz or drop. Walker is an effective blitzer. He can shoot gaps or come off the edge. You will see his athletic ability on the field. He’s not just a workout warrior.
Smart. Athletic. Good tackler. Good cover skills. That sounds like the modern NFL LB. You can see why the Eagles wanted him.
The big challenge for Walker is adapting to a scheme that is so different. Instead of reading plays and running laterally a lot, Walker will now be attacking up the field on a regular basis. He will take on blockers quite a bit. The players in front of him will be attacking rather than occupying blockers. Walker’s head was really swimming in minicamp and the OTAs, as the coaches put it. He was learning a lot of information and then having to deal with that on the field and it overwhelmed him a few times.
That’s okay in the spring. That is the time to learn and to make mistakes. It is a classroom on the field. Training Camp is when the players need to know the scheme and to be able to perform at a higher level. There is still plenty of teaching and learning, but you aren’t installing the scheme or basic concepts of the defense. TC is more about execution than knowing assignments and things like that.
Initially I had my doubts about Walker making the team this year. He felt more like a practice squad kind of guy. I’m starting to wonder now if the Eagles aren’t going to take a chance on him. Walker is young and cheap. There is value in that for a backup LB and STer. Obviously the Eagles need Walker to play at a minimal level to consider keeping him. If he struggles this summer, he’ll be headed to the PS. I think the team wants him to make it so they are more likely to grade on a curve, so to speak.
One other reason to like Walker is that I think he can play any of the 3 spots…MLB, WLB or SAM. He’s got the size/speed/strength to handle any of the spots.
Here is some video of him from 2013, as a backup and STer.
This is Walker as a Senior.
I don’t know that Walker ever becomes a starter in the NFL, but I think he can be a good STer and role player.
*****
Joe Walker, LB, 7th round
Walker got a lot of reps at OTAs and minicamp, which makes sense, as the Eagles severely lack depth at linebacker. Walker is a good bet to make the team, and he could be “thrown to the wolves” should the Eagles suffer some injuries at his position. He could also contribute immediately on special teams.
The Eagles are giving Walker every chance to show what he can do. We’ll see if that helps him to impress the coaches and make the team.
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[…] Tommy Lawlor The Eagles drafted LB Joe Walker in the 7th round. At the time, I hadn’t watched enough of […]
Nice thing about him as a late round prospect is that at least he has the physical tools to be an NFL starting LB – rather than a hard working guy who lacks the tools to ever be an effective athlete.
Walker probably makes the roster since he seems a solid special teamer and we have so little at LB depth wise. Needs to improve a lot technically and instincts wise to ever be a quality starter which is probably unlikely but i think he could hang around a fair few years as depth.
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Is it just me, or does Kelce looked jacked here (From Trent Cole’s Instagram)?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHKs8v8ASkO/
most people do after working out…
Love Trent Cole, bad ass
Not really. Barwin does
Only you. I see a turnstile.
http://weknowmemes.com/generator/uploads/generated/g138412947379670950.jpg
We really need a backup linebacker in addition to Najee to step up and prove he can be legit if called upon.
..
The Backup Linebackers and defensive tackles are two of the most Important units to evaluate in the second half of preseason games.
If we are relying on a 7th rd pick who was not that great in college as one of our primary backups behind multiple injury prone starters at LB, I’d say we have some issues.
What are, say, 3 or 4 other NFL teams that have better LB depth situations?
garys on the downer side.. its all good. prob been a fan a long time and is just sick of it all.. Keep that glass half full Gary!! wooo woooo
I think it is realistic. I think any rational person would admit our LB depth is poor. Maybe I’m the crazy one.
On the bright side, our LB depth is much better than the Cowboys and Giants QB depth + DeMeco is still on the street if there is a major injury early.
The question is not “could it be better?” The answer is almost always “yes”.
The question is “how can it be better?” Given the talent pool and the limited resources of an NFL team that’s a more pertinent line of inquiry.
We need someone to step up and reduce the size of the league so that the real teams can have the proper depth needed to compete.
Or stop penalizing PEDs.
Hgh should be legalized and MD monitored league wide.
As well as cannabis.
I’ve heard some compelling cases for legalizing PED use in sports, though I still think it unleashes a dystopic arms race to get jacked up on the latest stuff to get an advantage over fools getting not quite as jacked up on the old stuff, in a race that never ends, and can get pretty grotesque as time goes along.
They need to find a way to make people more durable without making them faster and stronger (being bigger and tougher won’t save you when the onslaught of violence is proportionally stronger and faster). Football could sure use such a drug, oh and a timely breakthrough in stem cell research to counter the whole brains being pounded to mush problem. Football is a few medical breakthroughs away from being able to sustain its current levels of popularity and participation indefinitely.
I’m a fan of science.
I am blinded by it
Did you Really Say that ..
SCIENCE !!!
Couldn’t agree more.
Is naming them going to improve the Eagles LB depth? 😉
No, but your point is barely more of a revelation then saying water is wet. I personally have a peeve about negativity in June.
Yes. Maybe Howie will read your list and know how to properly build a roster.
My hope is that some team will have a log jam at LB, and will be forced to release them after roster cuts.
Maybe a team like the Steelers or Panthers will be forced to part with a solid LB we can pick up.
I hope we can get at least one solid LB that could be an upgrade over a 7th rounder, but if Walker proves to be the best we can find then we have to roll with him.
I hope we stay healthy or that his play evolves with better coaching and playing with better talent around him.
first
Seems like a decent player at the LOS but boy does he get jittery in coverage. He got burned 3 times by 3 different players in just that short clip. I thought he was in good position too but once the ball was headed his way he kinda had a complex partial seizure with secondary generalization and got burned. From the short video, coverage is his weakest trait and not because it’s hard for him to get in position, rather what to do once he has gotten there.
Your description reminds me of my bud’s brother who was nationsl champion lax goalie on a great Hopskins team .. but he couldn’t pour milk on his cereal… stop 100 mph shots yes.. pour milk no. The family (8 kids) used to groanbsndisnvas he vontempkated pouring. ..
Would Walker be more likely to make the team over someone like Myke Tavarres? The resources they spent on the latter might even be more than a 7th round pick, though our depth is poor enough that both may have a shot.
Watching how the backup LBs perform in preseason games is going to be interesting. I’m interested to see who wins those jobs.
Tavarres is more of a WILL only, Walker is more of a MIKE/SAM.
I’m happy Tommy is keep the actual football content going. I’d much rather read deeper looks at fringe portions of our roster than see yet another nfl . com produced list of top players that has little or no basis in anything other than being click bait.
RIP Buddy.
When you’re kick returner is your QB, you might be playing against a Buddy Ryan defense.
Body Bag game ruled!
ESPN once again proving that it isn’t worth the toilet paper I wiped my rear end with after my morning dump; Pat Summit profiled higher than Buddy Ryan on the web site.
F everyody who isn’t Philly.
They’ve had more time to prep. Summit’s been in failing health throughout the weekend.
Gotcha. They need to have that flipped soon however.
There’s really not a need to rank the passing of two legends in their own right. Come on now…
Philly over all else at all times.
Gotta earn it! I’m not from Philly though, I’m just a confused Maryland farm bumpkin.
The problem is; what Philly has earned never gets credited properly. So I have to remain vigalent against their denigration.
Sorry, but ESPN got it right. Pat Summit was probably the greatest women’s basketball coach of all time. She was a trailblazer in a number of different regards, and there is a tragic element to her death (given her relative youth and the nature of the disease that cut short her career, then life).
Buddy Ryan was a really good defensive coordinator that fell on his face repeatedly as a head coach.
Pat, for her own sake, is everything you said and maybe even more.
Buddy is more important.
Care to explain beyond Football > women’s basketball? …because that’s the only argument that could possibly hold any water.
Philly > everywhere / everybody else.
Not only Philadelphia, but mastermind of one of the greatest defenses of all time in Chicago. Football is first and it’s not even close.
Yeah this couldn’t be more wrong.
*to you*, which is certainly fine. In the grander scheme ESPN got it right, for once. In a football Guy’s book Buddy will win, which is fine.
Pat Summit is a significantly more influential and important sports figure, who was also a quantifiably better coach.
This seems like a silly thing to be upset about.
Summit’s sport doesn’t really count, but she is a true champion.
Man 2016 is really pissing me off..
R.I.P to a legend, one of my favourite coaches and one of the main reasons i became an eagles fan as a kid. The fact that he managed to have that impact on a lil kid born and raised in canada is one small example of how powerful of an impact he had on a generation.
I started entering full awareness as a football fan during the 85 season as an 8 year old. Buddy taking over the Eagles coincided with my formative years as an NFL fan. I know the playoff results weren’t there, but he’ll always be the man.
I couldn’t wait everyday to get out in the back yard with my buddies to try to recreate the amazing plays of that team. I was lucky enough to have the Eagles helmet I had as a kid signed by Randall last year. So many memories.
Did you guys cheap shot a kicker?
Haha, I wish. I did lay out another neighborhood kid with a head led tackle right on his spine one time… And the guys on my team were a couple year’s younger so I always imagined myself as Keith Byars making one handed grabs.
Byars is my favorite Eagle of all time.
He scored the last second td in the game when Buddy ran up the score against Dallas with the fake kneel-down.
I am actually down voting that.
You gotta love Buddy, if only for his hatred of Dallas alone.
It was a great time to be an NFL fan, and even a greater time to be an Eagles fan.
RIP Buddy, we will never forget you or “THE BOUNTY BOWL”.
A day that will live in NFL infamy forever.
My best memory of the buddy era was transitioning to solid foods. Unfortunately..
I can’t wait to see Tommy’s buddy post. Those of us old enough for that era will have a ton of memories to scare.
Somebody just tweeted about the fake kneel down to run the score up against the Cowboys in retaliation for the Cowboys using scab player to run up the score against us in the last strike year.
Yes, because of the age I was, and the way I fell in love with this team… I assumed all good NFL coaches were like Buddy.
Kempski’s got a good clip of that game, and some other Buddy memories. http://www.phillyvoice.com/former-eagles-head-coach-buddy-ryan-dies-age-82/
hopefully everyone can hold off on their Buddy memory story telling until Tommy’s post goes up. i want to see everything in one place. it would be really awesome if Tommy could compile the good posts from the comments into a follow up post, too.
No doubt.
I predict the comments about Buddy will be in the millions.
First
that which is dead shall never die.
#buddy4ever
Im not old enough to remember the Buddy days, he seems like an oddly adored figure for a town that values winning over everything.
Regardless, RIP Buddy, your influence was felt broadly.
You had to have lived through it. Buddy made the Eagles, and by default the fan base, able to stand up and punch anybody in the face who dared stand in our way.
… but he never won anything. What good is punching people in the face if you lose?
Edit: I should make it clear I’m not trying to disparage the guy, I’m just curiously unable to understand why he’s so adored in Philly, that’s all.
Because you still beat them down. And his work here was the springboard for this team being really good from his time here forward with only a few low points.
Here’s a one minute clip of Mike Singletary talking about Buddy. Maybe give you some idea of how his players felt about him. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=14510771
Mike Singletary is a pretty awesome dude. I’m sad he’s not still coaching in some capacity in the league. Or maybe in a FO capacity, those were pretty much all his guys that Harbaugh took to the playoffs and eventually a Superbowl.
Did Santa realize he was in the way?
He brought the 46 D to Philly.
Nuff said.
Eagles fans had been used to losing — *badly* losing — for several years at that point. In fact, between the 1960 and Vermeil run from 1978 through 1981 the Eagles never made the playoffs. After Vermeil burned out, under Marion Campbell, they regressed to a dreadful team again. Fans would have been ecstatic with a .500 team. Buddy changed everything to a brash, confident outlook, and drafted very well. He turned the team around and in 1988 they started making the playoffs each year — that was *fun*. (And we might have had a chance of being the wildcard in 1987, except during the strike Buddy didn’t try to field a competitive team for the three scrub games and the Eagles lost them all — though that solidified his relationship with the players.)
Fans were fine giving him a couple years to figure out how to win in the playoffs — and one of those years was the very odd Fog Bowl. But, he never did learn — and really was too brash for Norman Braman’s liking, and he was fired more for that than actual performance. And then Braman hired Rich Kotite (already on staff so cheap) and so the Eagles got awful again (though coasted on Ryan’s players for a couple years). Before Lurie came, Ryan was about the only good thing to happen to the Eagles under Norman Braman. The teams were fun to watch even when losing (young Randall Cunningham, Reggie White). That is part of it.
We got spoiled under Andy Reid. Making the playoffs and going deep into them year after year makes the Buddy Ryan era pale in comparison. And really, the Eagles had the overall talent to be a Super Bowl winner but Ryan did have serious limitations in retrospect. At the time though was a great change from being a perennial doormat. Do you think the Cleveland Browns fans would take a Buddy-Ryan type era right now? That is close to what it was.
Makes it a lot more understandable.
Nice nice nice read.
Same. Was driving to work and turned on the radio to hear that he passed away. RIP Buddy, you’re with Reggie and Jerome now.
He may have been a phenomenally brilliant DC who had no way of turning his forte into a HC gig. To be fair, three years was an insufficient amount of time to gauge his true value. If you know anything about the ’91 defense, the greatness of that unit was totally down to Ryan. The ’85 Bears were champions with an adequate offense and a world-class defense, and many Eagle fans were encouraged by the players that Buddy acquired to play on his defense. That ’91 defense had more playmakers than we saw in 10 years of Andy Reid’s Eagles D, and that is not to slight Dawk, Troy, William Thomas and Bobby Taylor, all of whom were Eagles before AR was hired.
4 years not long enough rope for a genius football guy, you say? Interesting.
Lol… Not sure whether to like or dislike that comment…. It stings.
I think I’m getting an inference there, but Ryan was not so much a genius as an innovator who developed great relationships with great players. That distinguishes him from some dude from New Hampshire…can’t think of his name at the moment…
Correction: a town that values the tough guy over everything.
Still, he was one of a kind and heckuva defensive coach. Was also a lot of fun.
RIP Buddy. Philly had a good run-up until today. Iverson in the HOF. Lindros in the HOF. Simmons was the #1 pick. Just really sad news on the heels of some things that were giving hope.
How the hell does Lindros get into the HOF? What did he ever really achieve, besides the concussions record?
Sans concussions, he might have brought us the Cup eventually. That guy was one of the most dominating players when he was on the ice. Size, speed, grit, and skill to top it off. Shame the concussions ended it.
Scott Stevens hit makes everyones top 10 list
Scott Stevens is a guy who I wouldn’t mind seeing in the obituary section of the newspaper soon.
Never hated him.. respected how he was so badasss yet almost non famous
He wasn’t that tough when Lindros pummeled him when he’d drop the gloves to actually fight. Lindros beat the tar out of Stevens head to head in several fights. Headhunting one of our guys is nonsense. I didn’t like when Rinaldo and Carcillo did it to other guys, I didn’t like it when Stevens did it to our guys.
Could only see limited Flyers games here in nyc. Had the NHL package only a few years for some of those great teams .. i easily defer .. i hate the headhunting and cheapshots agree ..
League MVP very high historic PPG numbers. He’s a legit HOF player. He’s not in the discussion for greatest of all time, but the HOF is valid.
I knew he was, but as a fan of my teams it’s hard for me to be objective about our players. Seth Joyner should have made the Hall, but not sure if I’m being objective about it. That dude was every bit as good of a LB as others that are already in (Derrick Brooks anyone?).
Seth’s ship was sunk by his repeated failure to make pro bowls. Very hard in retrospect to get him the respect by hall voters if he didn’t have it as a player. It is a real shame.
We have had some success with 7th rounders at LBer. I liked cheering for Chaney and Foku and hope I’ll like this guy. Just hope he doesn’t have to start because of how bad we are there like the other guys.
Tommy these are some of my favorite pieces especially during the summer doldrums before camp starts.
You give a nice synopsis on a player I know nothing about and do so with an upbeat yet nuanced outlook on his upcoming season.
Joe Walker is no Joe Mays.