Colts select Anthony Walker, ILB Northwestern (Merge)

[MTC]

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2017/profiles/anthony-walker jr.?id=2558015

 

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BOTTOM LINE

 Has packed muscle onto his frame that looks good in the uniform but might be limiting his flexibility and athletic ability. A productive, downhill linebacker who misses too many tackles and struggles as a take-on player. He checks all the desired boxes for football and personal character and can be counted on to do what it takes to improve his game. He could become a decent starting linebacker within his first few years.

 

 

[Solon]

He sounds limited, but has the character necessary to improve. We'll see how good he'll be in two years. He has the potential to be our leader on defense.

[D-lineman]

Great value pick here 

[KB]

Stoked!!! Had my eye on him since January second. Can't believe we actually got him. This was an outstanding draft!!!

[ColtsBlueFL]

I was happy to see this on Colts last pick-

 

ANTHONY WALKER JR.–NORTHWESTERN–43IB
6005|238 lbs|4JR Miami, Fla. (Monsignor Edward Pace) 8/8/1995 (age 21) #1
YEAR (GP/GS) TKLS TFL SACK FF PD INT GRADE 4th-5th Round
2013: Redshirted MEASUREABLES Arm: 30 3/8 | Hand: 09 1/2 | Wingspan: 73 1/8
2014: (12/7) 51 9.0 1.5 1 5 2 COMBINE 40-YD: 4.65 | 10-YD: 1.57 | 20-YD: 2.67 | BP: 23 | VJ: 30 1/2 | BJ: 09’08” | SS: 4.34 | 3C: 7.23
2015: (13/13) 122 20.5 4.0 1 5 1 PRO DAY N/A (positional drills only)
2016: (13/13) 105 10.0 2.0 4 6 1
Total: (38/33) 278 39.5 7.5 6 16 4
BACKGROUND: A three-star linebacker recruit out of high school, Anthony Walker Jr. registered a 4.7 GPA at Monsignor Edward Pace and was equally impressive on the football field. However, he went under-recruited by the major Florida programs and signed with Northwestern over Purdue and Minnesota, staying true to his commitment even after hometown Miami offered at the final moment. After redshirting in 2013, Walker found the field as a redshirt freshman due to injury and played well, finishing with 51 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss and two interceptions. He became a regular starter as a sophomore in 2015 (13 starts) and posted a team-best 122 tackles and 20.5 tackles for loss, adding 4.0 tackles for loss, five passes defended and one interception to earn First Team All-Big Ten honors and All-American recognition. Walker started all 13 games in 2016 as a junior and posted 105 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, four forced fumbles, six passes defended and one interception to earn Second Team All-Big Ten honors. He elected to skip his final season and enter the 2017 NFL Draft (first Northwestern player to do so since 1996).
STRENGTHS: Plus range and pursuit for the position with speed to close…opens his hips, flows fast and plays decisive…uses timing and burst to attack gaps and make stops on the other side of the line of scrimmage…plays comfortable in space…diagnose skills to routinely be in the vicinity…assignment sound run-fits with his eyes trained on the prize…experienced spot dropping with the cover awareness to sense route combinations…locates the ball in flight to make plays (also played wide receiver in high school and finished his Northwestern career with 16 passes defended and four interceptions)…extra coach on the field with natural leadership traits…no stranger to the weight room with developed muscle…football lifer and if he doesn’t pan out professionally, it won’t be because of lack of effort or preparation…excellent production with back-to-back 100+ tackles seasons, collecting 39.5 tackles for loss in his 32 career starts.
WEAKNESSES: Short arms stick to blocks…inconsistent take-on skills near the line of scrimmage, lacking the hand usage to quickly shed…burly, strapping frame, but his added muscle limits his flexibility and lateral range – Northwestern coaches had to restrict his workout regimen because he added too much bulk…hyper-focused on the ball and needs to expand his vision to anticipate blockers…needs to tweak his break down mechanics to be more of a hit, lift, drive tackler…false steps can be his undoing, creating bad angles…tight transition in man coverage…arrives too early in pass defense and needs to improve his timing…didn’t miss a start, but clearly bothered by a right knee sprain (Aug. 2016) that affected his play.
SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Northwestern, Walker became the starting MIKE linebacker as a redshirt freshman due to injury, but never gave the job back, posting All-American worthy production the past two years with back-to-back 100+ tackle seasons – his 39.5 tackles for loss ranks fourth-best in Wildcats history. Walker is quick to key, read and flow with consistent play speed, making it seem like there are two or three No. 1 jerseys on the field. The son of a coach, he competes with a football-first mentality, but needs to clean up his tackling technique and pursuit angles to help mask his lack of suddenness and body twitch. Overall, Walker is a physical run defender with the diagnose skills and compete for starting reps.

[Hoosiernsavga]

I posted earlier that I really wanted Mack, Walker, and King today and we got two of the three. Great draft! 

[UKColt13]

I love this pick! I've mocked him to us a few times. He added weight on last year. It slowed him down. If he's slimming down again then he's an explosive WILL. 

 

Hes great in coverage too.

[NorthernBlue]

Eh! One of my favourite prospects. Had my eyes on him since like January. 

[chad72]

Probably a Navarro Bowman type solid career is what I hope for, someone who can still stay on the field if a team goes no huddle for all 3 downs, and that is a big plus.

[LockeDown]

Sounds like a leader too.

[COLTS449]

This kid was yet another GREAT pick. Very underrated player. He's got the talent to be a high end starting ILB for years. 3 down ILB. Great pick.

[RomanianColtsFan]

I like this pick too, along with the first two and the RB. 50% rate of success from this draft would be great.

[Defjamz26]

Nice. I wanted him later if we missed on the other LBs. I think if he plays at the right weight, he starts at WILL with Morrison starting at MIKE.

[Andrew Luck fan club]

[#12.]

McShay and the ESPN crew were pretty high on him(and Hairston).

[Colt Overseas]

He is a bit like Morrison in that he is a phone booth, limited in coverage kind of guy. But he is big, physical, high motor and has great character. He can bring a bit of nastiness. Chuck will love him anyway. I think he will beat out Bostic and Morrison for the MIKE spot in the end.

[Andrew Luck fan club]

I just watched some film of him.  He was fast in 2015. You can tell all the muscle he added slowed him down last season, but I still wouldn't call him "phone booth"  . Still has some speed, but will probably drop a couple LBs. Good pick. 

[SkyBane]

1 minute ago, Majin Vegeta said:

I just watched some film of this guy. He was fast in 2015. You can tell all the muscle he added slowed him down last season, but I still wouldn't call him "phone booth"  . Still has some speed, but will probably drop a couple LBs. Good pick. 

At one point he was considered a very good cover 'backer. He really overdid it with adding all that unnecessary bulk. He needs to trim down and just be an athlete.

[PrincetonTiger]

Love the Pick

[CR91]

Got a draft pick right

[krunk]

9 hours ago, Colt Overseas said:

He is a bit like Morrison in that he is a phone booth, limited in coverage kind of guy. But he is big, physical, high motor and has great character. He can bring a bit of nastiness. Chuck will love him anyway. I think he will beat out Bostic and Morrison for the MIKE spot in the end.

Why do people keep saying this? Walker runs 4.63. Hes not a two down LB. Hes on the field a 3 downs.

[stitches]

3 hours ago, Majin Vegeta said:

I just watched some film of him.  He was fast in 2015. You can tell all the muscle he added slowed him down last season, but I still wouldn't call him "phone booth"  . Still has some speed, but will probably drop a couple LBs. Good pick. 

I love posters that change their mind when given more/better information, instead of doubling down. Cheers, sir!

[SkyBane]

7 minutes ago, krunk said:

Why do people keep saying this? Walker runs 4.63. Hes not a two down LB. Hes on the field a 3 downs.

Probably because his mobility and athleticism have been hindered by his extra swole. They are looking at what he did after he packed on the extra muscle, and not what he did before. If dude trims down it's a steal, if not he's just going to go the way of Laron Landry, but with far less money and effort lost.

[krunk]

9 minutes ago, SkyBane said:

Probably because his mobility and athleticism have been hindered by his extra swole. They are looking at what he did after he packed on the extra muscle, and not what he did before. If dude trims down it's a steal, if not he's just going to go the way of Laron Landry, but with far less money and effort lost.

I'm very sure he will slim down. I have zero doubt about it.

[BProland85]

If Walker can get back down to his weight and explosion he displayed in 2015, he could be a steal for the Colts!

[D-lineman]

I love this pick and thought he would go sooner in the draft 

[UKColt13]

Make no mistake guys. If he brings his weight down again and gets that explosion back, he's a 3 down starting WILL. Good against the run but excellent in coverage. In 2015, he was running stride for stride with Christian McCaffrey on routes out of the backfield. I want that Anthony Walker, and that's the one I think we'll get come Week 1.

 

I had a high 4th round grade on him so this was a steal in my book.

[compuls1v3]

5 minutes ago, UKColt13 said:

Make no mistake guys. If he brings his weight down again and gets that explosion back, he's a 3 down starting WILL. Good against the run but excellent in coverage. In 2015, he was running stride for stride with Christian McCaffrey on routes out of the backfield. I want that Anthony Walker, and that's the one I think we'll get come Week 1.

 

I had a high 4th round grade on him so this was a steal in my book.

I also saw this in his highlight videos (against Christian M.) which got me excited about this pick. Go Colts!!

 

[AZColt11]

It was great value for where they got him.  He was one of my picks in the 4th round.  So long as you aren't comparing him to Foster or other high round guys.  He will compete for time right away IMHO.

[1959Colts]

Unusual to hear that a LB has packed on "too much" muscle. And that he needs to lose some.

Not a bad problem to have... I'd say.

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