To say that Jalon Walker is an athlete is an understatement.
Walker comes into the SEC as a versatile and unique player for the Bulldogs. Georgia tends to find a lot of different roles for Jalon as he balances his time from off ball and drop coverage to EDGE rusher.
Walker is in the middle of his third season with UGA and it is his first real opportunity to make impact consistently. He showed a little spark as a true sophomore getting 20 total tackles with 5 sacks on limited snaps. This year he has already surpassed his previous year tackle margin with 22, but with the movement around the defense only has 1.5 sacks.
PLAYER INFO
Name: Jalon Walker
Jersey: #11
Position: Outside Linebacker
School: Georgia
Class: Junior
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 245 lbs
Jalon Walker’s Strengths
Walker has NFL athleticism, which is something unteachable. His sideline-to-sideline speed and reaction time is top of the entire class.
To pair with his speed, he has a lot of natural ability too. He is able to keep a low center of gravity at impact, and rarely uses only his shoulder when tackling. He also has instincts that either come naturally or show that he has extensive film watch, either way a pro.
Seems to use his athletic nature along with IQ to help in coverage. He has RB coverage capability which gives his EDGE presence a mixability.
Jalon Walker’s Weaknesses
With minimal tape, it is hard to tell the exact role Walker will have at the next level. It is good to be versatile, but if a team does not see an ideal fit, they can worry about an Isaiah Simmons type project not panning out.
Size to be an edge rusher is very short and light, but he seems to be more fit in an OLB role than a true MLB who would have to cover slot WRs.
Raw prospect overall and does not seem to be a step in and play MLB with the green dot.
Draft Projection
LB is a tough position to find value in, especially when you are not a true stand-up EDGE in a 3-4 scheme. My guess is due to production this year in sacks not being outstanding, he ends up in the 2nd round. I do think Walker is a top 50 player and a team in the 25-32 range could get their hands on him while they can due to his freaky athleticism.
My NFL comparison to him is Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah due to his hybrid nature.
