DeMarcus Walker

[Rich_C]

I could not find a thread on Walker (i thought there was one...weird). I just watched the Fangio presser where he commented on Champ getting into the Ring of Fame. The one thing which really stuck out for me was his tone and comments on Walker. Perhaps I am reading too much into it but the way he spoke of Walker was VERY different then the other players. We always hear from the players who turn analysts that most players get warned if they violate certain polices before they get dinged. There is a large part of me that wonders if Walker has gotten himself into trouble and it just never made it to the fans....The one comment that made me go down this road/ comments is when Fangio stated that he thought Walker had likely "matured". He also said that he thought he was in a good mental place/ mental mind-set. Again there were just a few oddities and MAJOR differences in how he spoke of Walker compared to others.


Thoughts?

[lvbronx]

There was a comment in the Denver Post recently where Walker said he felt good because he thought this coaching staff would treat him fairly. It seems he felt the last coaching staff didn't give him a fair shot.

[15thebeast]

There was a comment in the Denver Post recently where Walker said he felt good because he thought this coaching staff would treat him fairly. It seems he felt the last coaching staff didn't give him a fair shot.

Which is understandable, he played well in limited chances and wasn’t given a fair chance. I hope him and Jones feature heavily this season getting after the QB

[gtown53]

Demarcus Walker is being Coached by the same Coach that was coaching the Defensive Line when Walker came into the league. So blaming the Coaching staff, or some nebulous, imagined transgression as being Walker's problem seems to be "grasping at straws".

So, what are the possibilities? Either there is some vast conspiracy to keep a great player off the field, the coaches are incompetent, or Walker can't play. Sadly, I believe the odds favor that latter. I certainly hope I'm wrong. Drafted as a pass-rusher, Walker may benefit by the Broncos losing Shaq Barrett, and Shane Ray. But actually, Dre'mont Jones may be the player that spells the end of Walker's short, uneventful career.

[FR Tim]

What is treated fairly? What might have been considered no big deal by some might be an insult to others.

Just spitballing here but Walker came out of college as a dline pass rusher. He was asked to lose weight and standup as a linebacker his rookie season. Maybe he didn’t handle it well?

Maybe he needed last year out of the rotation to “mature” and get his head back into football.

Personally I liked what I saw him do in college. It will be interesting to see if he can regain some of that intensity now that he is back on the line and Fangio seems to be giving him a fresh start.

I hope he finds whatever he lost. Because the Broncos can use the depth on the line.

[brianmcfarlane]

As others have said, he has made some plays when getting a chance to play. His first season was mostly wasted trying to play him at OLB/Edge, somewhere that he didn't really fit. Some players take some time to become good NFL players; I hope Walker comes through to be part of the Dline rotation this season... I am interested in seeing it.

[arapaho]

Demarcus Walker is being Coached by the same Coach that was coaching the Defensive Line when Walker came into the league. So blaming the Coaching staff, or some nebulous, imagined transgression as being Walker's problem seems to be "grasping at straws".

So, what are the possibilities? Either there is some vast conspiracy to keep a great player off the field, the coaches are incompetent, or Walker can't play. Sadly, I believe the odds favor that latter. I certainly hope I'm wrong. Drafted as a pass-rusher, Walker may benefit by the Broncos losing Shaq Barrett, and Shane Ray. But actually, Dre'mont Jones may be the player that spells the end of Walker's short, uneventful career.

You mean other then VJ forcing him to lose a a lot of weight and play out of position as a stand up olb then ya same dline coach

[broncolee]

When Walker came out, the options were: have him gain weight to play DE in a 3-4 defense or lose weight to play OLB.

I don’t think it was necessarily a bad decision to go with the latter.

We’ll see if he does better as a lineman.

[Kyousukeneko]

When Walker came out, the options were: have him gain weight to play DE in a 3-4 defense or lose weight to play OLB.

I don’t think it was necessarily a bad decision to go with the latter.

We’ll see if he does better as a lineman.

i don't think he fits in the nfl as a pure outside rusher. one of the things he did best in college was rush from the interior. and he is general to fast and quick for guards.

[gtown53]

When Walker came out, the options were: have him gain weight to play DE in a 3-4 defense or lose weight to play OLB.

I don’t think it was necessarily a bad decision to go with the latter.

We’ll see if he does better as a lineman.

Yes, I agree. Things didn't work out at LB. And then, after some injuries on the d-line, Joseph moved Walker back to the D-line (Kollar coached), in November of 2017. So, Walker was tried for a little over 1/2 a season at LB, failed, was moved back to DE, and has 1 1/2 years at that position UNDER KOLLAR. One can only hope it works out with Fangio taking charge, as another failed 2nd Round Pick would hurt.

https://broncoswire.usatoday.com/2017/11/30/denver-broncos-news-demarcus-walker-back-defensive-line/

[beastlyskronk]

When Walker came out, the options were: have him gain weight to play DE in a 3-4 defense or lose weight to play OLB.

I don’t think it was necessarily a bad decision to go with the latter.

We’ll see if he does better as a lineman.

Lose 30 pounds to play a position he’s never played before or gain 5-10 pounds to be an interior rusher where he made his name at in college? Doesn’t seem like much of a decision to me.

[beastlyskronk]

Yes, I agree. Things didn't work out at LB. And then, after some injuries on the d-line, Joseph moved Walker back to the D-line (Kollar coached), in November of 2017. So, Walker was tried for a little over 1/2 a season at LB, failed, was moved back to DE, and has 1 1/2 years at that position UNDER KOLLAR. One can only hope it works out with Fangio taking charge, as another failed 2nd Round Pick would hurt.

https://broncoswire.usatoday.com/201...efensive-line/

Moving back to dline November 30th is not half a season. And after losing all that weight to play OLB he was never in a position to contribute along the dline anyway. His rookie season was lost as soon as they decided to play him at OLB and effectively wasted his 2nd season as now he’s behind the learning curve of your typical dlineman coming out of college.

[listopencil]

Demarcus Walker is being Coached by the same Coach that was coaching the Defensive Line when Walker came into the league. So blaming the Coaching staff, or some nebulous, imagined transgression as being Walker's problem seems to be "grasping at straws".

Really? The D-Line coaches were coaching the Outside Linebackers? That's news to me. No wonder our Defense fell off.

[broncolee]

Really? The D-Line coaches were coaching the Outside Linebackers? That's news to me. No wonder our Defense fell off.

Kollar was Miller’s primary coach, even though Miller is an OLB. I don’t know if that was the case for other pass rushers though.

[lvbronx]

New head coach, new start for Broncos DL DeMarcus Walker

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/05/20/broncos-demarcus-walker-vic-fangio/