Hype Hits New Level For David Walker
May 23rd, 2025
More over-the-top love for the Bucs rookie.
It started with linebackers coach Larry Foote shouting that the drafting of edge rusher David Walker in Round 4 is a Super Bowl move.
Foote was so elated in the Buccaneers’ draft room last month, and he was met with ecstasy by his peers.
Since then, Joe has heard boundless enthusiasm from One Buc Palace regarding Walker, the small-school, small-stature guy from Central Arkansas. His college production was astounding, but, well, you know, Central Arkansas.
Why did Walker last until the 121st pick in a league that craves pass rushers?
The Bucs have their opinions, but ultimately the whole truth will stay a mystery. That’s just how the NFL is. Lots of reality behind the scenes never make its way to media or fans — the kinds of answers that appear in books 20 years after the fact.
For example, standing with Ira Kaufman at the NFL owners meetings in late March, Joe was told point blank by a high-ranking official of another team (without being asked) why that club did not draft Bucky Irving in Round 3.
Joe cannot share the reason because it was completely off-the-record (and Joe does not want to spend the next 20 years missing in an NFL black site) but if Joe did share the reason, legions of Bucs fans would have their minds blown. And no, Bucky didn’t do anything naughty.
Back to Walker, the drumbeat for him to be make a fast impact got louder yesterday.
Hall of Fame cornerback and Bucs insider Rondé Barber said he expects Walker to be the Bucs rookie to have the most impact this season.
Whaaat?
“When you put the film on, you’re like, ‘Holy Cow!’ Barber said of Walker on his WFLA-TV show. “This dude has this mentality. This kind of like doggish, underdog mentality that makes people respect him. So this is my No. 1 impact rookie.”
Barber went on to reference YaYa Diaby and Hasson Reddick, but he made no mention of Chris Braswell, the Tampa Bay edge rusher who was last year’s second-round pick.
“I’m not putting a lot of pressure on [Walker] but I’m telling you David Walker looks like a guy that [could bring edge pressure right away],” Barber said. “Now he’s undersized … but I would not be surprised if he’s a breakout star.
“A lot of people around football talk about this kid. He had an unbelievable Senior Bowl when he went, and I think that’s where he kind of jumped on people’s radar. …Also, he’s 25 years old, man. He’s been around. He’s not a kid. He’s ready to play.”
Joe is speechless. Go Walker! The hype sure feels good, but it’s also hard to believe.
Walker was the first edge rusher taken in Round 4, however. The other linebackers grabbed before him are inside/off-ball players.
May 23rd, 2025 at 2:33 pm
Hope he stays grounded with all this hype. I’m pulling for him.
May 23rd, 2025 at 2:38 pm
Size and age are why he was drafted in the 4th, hes going to be 29 after his rookie contract, small school not so much due to Senior Bowl
May 23rd, 2025 at 3:17 pm
Guzzie5 Says:
May 23rd, 2025 at 2:38 pm
Size and age are why he was drafted in the 4th
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Yeah, agreed. But it’s worth noting he’s the same size as Shaq – who also slipped in the draft. Good thing about Walker is at his age, with his experience, it means he should be able to play early – and he’s not a project like some of the edge guys the Bucs have been drafting. I think Tampa will know pretty early what they got, and if he’s going to make it or not.
May 23rd, 2025 at 3:24 pm
I hope he’s a stud.
But 25 y.o. playing in d2 against kids who didn’t get recruited to D1 does not jump out at me as “hidden gem.”
May 23rd, 2025 at 3:24 pm
We as readers might be willing to allow a certain someone who divulged the Irving non-draft off the record revelation to spend the next 20 years in a black site, so long as we get the info. Yeah, deal. Spill.
May 23rd, 2025 at 3:24 pm
The RB goods
May 23rd, 2025 at 3:28 pm
Nope. Can’t put every player name, owner, staff member name in the site filters here. Where to begin man.
May 23rd, 2025 at 3:33 pm
Cobraboy Says:
May 23rd, 2025 at 3:24 pm
I hope he’s a stud.
But 25 y.o. playing in d2 against kids who didn’t get recruited to D1 does not jump out at me as “hidden gem.”
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WRONG.
First, he showed at the senior bowl he had the physical tools needed to play in the NFL.
Second, as is widely said by scouts since the beginning of time, pass rush skills translate regardless of level. The only limiting factor is physical ability, and while D2 guys can dominate other D2 guys, if they’re not big enough or fast enough for the NFL, they’ll never make it. Walker is both – while people talk about his ‘size’, what they really mean is his height, and he’s the same height and weight as Shaq who did pretty well for himself.
Doesn’t mean he will make it, but you should not dismiss him based on playing vs small schools. There is risk, which is why he went in the 4th round, but there is also a big potential payoff, which is also why he was drafted in the 4th.
May 23rd, 2025 at 3:35 pm
Just watched a ton of David Walker highlight videos. The guy is uncannily fast and powerful. At times he seems to teleport from the line of scrimmage to 5 yards behind it instantly! Wow…just…wow. Great blend of speed and strength. I hope it translates to the NFL and I certainly think it will.
May 23rd, 2025 at 4:17 pm
They’ve drafted Production with this guy. And speed! 4.69 forty? He’s pretty much like Egbuka. Ready to go. These 2 guys level of play this year could make a huge difference.
May 23rd, 2025 at 4:19 pm
My favorite draft pick this year also. He looks super mean in senior bowl practice footage! (and he looks like godzilla in tokyo in game footage)
May 23rd, 2025 at 4:29 pm
@Rod: I dismiss nothing, but that does not mean I am not sceptical.
I hope he’s the greatest in NFL history, as I do all Buc players.
But at the same time, I am fairly rookie hype-proof.
I don’t buy anything the hype machine says about a rook or UDFA. I focus on one thing, and one thing only: performance in the regular season.
“CB’s Law of Rhetorical Economics: “The reason ‘talk is cheap’ is because the supply outstrips the demand.”
It was not that long ago the hype machine was levitating Joe Tryon and Chris Braswell.
May 23rd, 2025 at 4:38 pm
I’m still waiting to hear the Desean Jackson intel Joe promised years ago.
May 23rd, 2025 at 4:56 pm
Hope the hype is right. It shouldn’t take long to find out. Let him practice getting around Wirfs and Goedeke every day. If he can do that, he wiil have a successful career. Until that happens, I am going to be skeptical. Every team is sold on their draft picks and this is the time of year when teams feel the need to sell their fans.
May 23rd, 2025 at 5:11 pm
He’s not only defensive Rookie of the Year…he’s defensive Player of the Year!
— Toddradamus
May 23rd, 2025 at 5:38 pm
One day I want to hear some of the record stuff joe knows
May 23rd, 2025 at 5:44 pm
Cobraboy – I don’t disagree with you that the hype is over the top, he’s far from a sure thing, but it sounded a bit dismissive because of the D2 comment. But if you didn’t mean it that way, then fair enough – we’re somewhat on the same page.
I do have high expectations for him, and I think he’s going to do well, but doing well is still being a backup his rookie year, and if people are thinking double digit sacks, then they’re just setting themselves up for disappointment. Unless he pulls a Kwon Alexander – who, also as a 4th, dominated Bucs FA signing Bruce Carter and flat out took his job.
May 23rd, 2025 at 6:02 pm
We could actually have 4 players with double digit sacks; Reddick, YaYa, Kancey and Walker
May 23rd, 2025 at 6:04 pm
Cobra
“The reason ‘talk is cheap’ is because the supply outstrips the demand.”
That’s one of those sayings that is both humorous and accurate!
I’ll have to steal that one from you. I’ll try to remember to give you attribution.
“CB’s Law of Rhetorical Economics”
May 23rd, 2025 at 6:05 pm
Joe…did you guys hear Moving The Chains gang ranking of RB room? We’re headed in the right direction.
May 23rd, 2025 at 6:06 pm
have a good feeling about this one
May 23rd, 2025 at 6:07 pm
Wow, not a down has been played and everyone is on the band wagon. He is undersized and slow so I am struggling with why everyone is so excited? Hope I am wrong, but would rather have another proven vet at Edge.
May 23rd, 2025 at 6:22 pm
@Rod: I’m not sure folks understand the difference between low D1 players and even high D2 players.
I’m kinda sorta involved in that world. And there is a yuge difference between the two.
It is a real shock when a 17-year-old. kid, high on himself because he is the best his school has ever seen, self-image as a D1 can’t-miss, thinking he can run a 4.5, goes to a college recruiting clinic and finds out there are a gaggle of guys bigger, stronger, more athletic…and vastly faster. That 4.5 is really a 4.7. It’s quite sobering to realize you should not have blown off the recruiter from Lawrence or Winthrop, when those guys with superior talent will end up at Arkansas State or Mississippi College…and not a real D1 school (all D1 is not the same.)
In addition, an 18– to 20-year-old is still a kid, and a 25-year-old is a full-grown man. Again, there is a massive difference.
I played college ball for a team that recruited Marines from the Quantico football team. We had 4-5 players from there, minimum age 24. To an 18-19-year-old kid like me, these guys looked like giant men and played that way, too. They were mature, tough, and experienced in life. Some are married with kids. And they would Kick Your Ass, Then Snicker.
The guy might be great, but one has to consider the quality of competition. While this is pure speculation on my part, I doubt he’d rack up big numbers and look explosive in the SEC.
When I look at those dreaded “highlight” reels, designed to make a guy look good, my first impression is that the OTs he plays against cannot move their feet.
I will give him props for being tenacious. He does seem to have a high motor.
I do hope he’s a freak, becomes a first-ballot HoFer, and a household name across Tampa Bay. And brings another Lombardi to Tampa in 2026.
May 23rd, 2025 at 6:31 pm
Mr. Barber is prone to hyperbole, just go back and check out what he was saying about sorry azz Vernon Hargreaves back in the day. It’s so bad it isn’t even funny.
May 23rd, 2025 at 6:36 pm
It sounds like he could already have himself locked in on a roster spot. Hope to see him have a really nice season. I hope Braswell can get it figured out and then next year if Reddick leaves there Braswell is. Ya Ya just shove the dough boy into the QB baum . There’s a lot of undrafted guys that have come here and well Izzy is good. That’s just he gets thrown in and does a good job. Licht has his roll extended!! Let’s Go Bucs!!!!
May 23rd, 2025 at 6:45 pm
“Lots of reality behind the scenes never make its way to media or fans.”
Joe…What happened in the Locker room with DeSean Jackson and Jameis?? Statute of limitations has expired!
May 23rd, 2025 at 6:54 pm
speaking of hype, bucs 1.5 point favs at Atlanta!
May 23rd, 2025 at 7:30 pm
I like the draft but I’ll wait to see how they all do. Hype the guy too much and he will for sure be a disappointment.
May 23rd, 2025 at 7:43 pm
I’m finally going to be interested in preseason games.
May 23rd, 2025 at 9:22 pm
Enough with the hype to many times guy like Spence yaya JTS bras we’ll get hyped up just for us to be let down. lol. This guy did have the stats but again you said it Joe at central Arkansas. We can only your favorite word Joe HOPE he lives up to the hype
May 23rd, 2025 at 10:54 pm
Cobraboy – That’s why his Senior Bowl performance was so important, it showed that he can physically compete with D1 players. He wasn’t just surviving at the Senior Bowl, he looked like a star. That’s what got people excited about him – his tape show him dominating D2 players, which I agree doesn’t mean much by itself, but going to the Senior Bowl, and dominating there, that’s when small school guys make a name for themselves. Case in point, Ali Marpet, who was a D3 player, and went to the Senior Bowl, proved he belonged, and the hype train went into overdrive.
Walker is beloved by every scout I’ve heard talk about him, and for someone drafted in the 4th round, at a premium position, he’s a lot more interesting than the normal roster fodder developmental players you get there, that take years to develop if they develop at all. I think Walker, if he’s going to do anything at the NFL level, will show his skills early.
May 23rd, 2025 at 10:57 pm
Jeffrey Becker Says:
May 23rd, 2025 at 6:54 pm
speaking of hype, bucs 1.5 point favs at Atlanta!
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I’m hoping the Falcons go all in with all those rookie draft picks on defense, that should give a high powered veteran Bucs offense a big opening day advantage, hopefully.
Only downside of that, is that if the Falcons go all in early, it means by late in the season those rookies should know what they’re doing, and they will be much improved – unless they’re busts, which we can hope for.
May 23rd, 2025 at 11:37 pm
Heard bucky had a permanent foot or toe injory that will never fully heal that will cap his anual touches.
May 24th, 2025 at 1:31 am
Rod munch
Get a hobby you’re as clueless as Joe Jackson .
And anyone can talk like rod. Doesn’t matter if it’s licht or ronde or munch. It all sounds the same. Once we see it then it all looks like same. Until then…..Joe tries
May 24th, 2025 at 2:12 am
Jason licht hasn’t drafted one good edge rusher ever. Hopefully this is different but odds say its absolutely not different
May 24th, 2025 at 5:09 am
I don’t know what to say about Walker. After drafting him, I’m incredibly skeptical that we got this lucky. We haven’t been lucky with pass rushers. Historically speaking, would not surprise me if he simply ends up being JAG. All the fans can inundate me with examples of 6 ft OLB/DE, and my short answer? They are the exception at the NFL level, hence why he was drafted in the 4th, and why he was passed over by all the other NFL teams. But, what a hit for Licht if this kid turns into a 10 sack per year guy.
When I think about the upcoming season, I think about what a moment this could be for Licht and his staff. Imagine, Riddick flashes some semblance of what he was prior to the Jets trade…Yaya finally lives up to the hype and at least gets us 10 sacks. From there, Braswell makes the leap and surprises all of us and our draft picks Walker and Roberts flash on the stat sheet? Let’s not forget our stud interior guys. Perhaps Kancey can stay healthy and not have to sit the first few games again. If only 50% of this is true, we are still looking better at pass rush than last season.
May 24th, 2025 at 6:35 am
Walker’s floor is Stylez G. White—6-3, 270, a late bloomer who flashed for eight rookie sacks and carved out 24 career takedowns, earning his keep with timely strip-sacks.
His aspirational ceiling should be Cameron Wake, the CFL import who detonated for 100.5 sacks and five Pro Bowls. Keep Walker’s first-step burst and counter arsenal razor-sharp, and the trajectory tilts far closer to Wake than White.
May 24th, 2025 at 8:08 am
Walker lasted so late due to three factors… his height, his level of experience, and most importantly, his age. 25 is old. Older prospects often struggle coming from college where they were grown men playing against mostly kids straight out of high school. Hype him all you want, but the odds are against him.
May 24th, 2025 at 8:24 am
Munch…. overaged prospects wash out worse along the lines more than all other positions. No place where man vs kid strength is more evident. Gaines Adams was 24, Danny Watkins 28, and Peria Jerry was 25 before they monumentally flopped in the NFL. No more being the strongest by default on the field. Precedent has been set. There are tons of overage prospects that didn’t cut it at OL/DL in the NFL, show me one that made it. Chad Hennings, every BYU lineman to ever go on a mission (Shawn Knight, Jason Buck, Mo Elowonibi), and Margus Hunt are just a few more examples… the only one I can think of that was even decent was the WVU OLB that played okay for the Seahawks, Bruce Irvin. Irvin, however, was a truly athletic freak for any age
May 24th, 2025 at 9:19 am
Time will tell. Offseason hype gets boring.
May 24th, 2025 at 9:28 am
If that is true about Irvings’ toe-then why not just remove the toe and no more injury-Ronnie Lott removed a finger.
May 24th, 2025 at 9:58 am
Really enjoyed the debate on this thread between Rod and Cobra!!!
This was refreshing. BOTH respecting the others opinion, BOTH making excellent points.
That exchange educated me and dare is say it…ENTERTAINED me. I wish we could see waaaay more of this and far less insults and trollish behavior.
May 24th, 2025 at 11:40 am
@Munch I watched the Senior Bowl practices especially and Walker looked great against the top talent there. He was pushing people back and getting around them consistently. I give him a better than average shot to make it in the NFL, but of course nothing is guaranteed.
May 24th, 2025 at 11:48 am
Not going to projection a 4th round draft pick- that’s too much pressure on a sneaky good pick. Just let him perform and see what you have.
I like Walker, but what he does when the lads go on and having to do it against Wirffs/Goedeke – my eyes will tell me all I need to know.
I want the kid to do well, just let it happen.
May 24th, 2025 at 11:36 pm
Joe, are you worried about Payton reading something you talked about? Or is it another guy not tied to the team that might read your work? That just seems kinda weird about someone that might read something you write about a team that person isn’t tied to. People tied to Tampa I could see, but maybe educate me a little on what you mean.
May 25th, 2025 at 10:09 am
That makes me skeptical of him and his production at a smaller school. A 25 year old playing against 19 year olds just may be why the production is there. Covid really screwed this up allowing kids to play 7 years in college football. This may turn out to be good for QB’s to develop but I wonder about these other positions.
May 25th, 2025 at 12:18 pm
A grown playing against still growing up men will now get to play against grown and seasoned linemen and professional OCs. Hype is hype and talk is talk until he walks that walk. We shall see what we see. This offense needs him to walk that walk quickly
May 25th, 2025 at 2:09 pm
Wirfs not all that good of a test seeing as how NOBODY gets around/past him, lol.
May 25th, 2025 at 3:46 pm
Brandon Says:
May 24th, 2025 at 8:24 am
Munch…. overaged prospects wash out worse along the lines more than all other positions. No place where man vs kid strength is more evident
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Yeah, but 25 isn’t really overaged anymore, times have changed. My point is simply that as a 4th round pick, getting a guy who has experience, is physically mature and ready to play is a lot more exciting than the general developmental guy, who you’ll have no idea about for 2 or 3 years. He’s still a 4th round edge rusher, a position-round combo where things rarely work out – just saying his odds, I think, are way better than what you’d normally expect, but that’s till far from a sure thing.