Quietly and calmly, an imposing figure left the practice field Wednesday. He walked confidently, yet unassumingly toward the locker room, stopping briefly to accept a compliment from defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
As the Denver Broncos concluded the last day of their offseason workouts, the fan base continues to wonder who will fill Malik Jackson’s shoes.
Vance Walker, a player who will either reap the benefits of his former teammate’s departure or take blame for a downturn in production this upcoming season, is not worried.
“I don’t pay that no mind,” Walker said Wednesday. “We just come out here and work. I know everything will take care of itself. Nothing is going to be perfect. You just have to go out there and work, and the best things will happen.”
Walker is the likely candidate to get the majority of snaps at the second defensive end position opposite of Derek Wolfe and last year he quietly contributed along the formidable front. He tallied 33 total tackles, two sacks and two quarterback hits during the 34.7-percent of snaps he was in on during the regular season. He also earned the first four starts of the season during Wolfe’s suspension.
When asked about Jackson’s departure in early May, Phillips answered quickly.
“Vance Walker played really well for us last year,” he said confidently. “He played a lot. I think he’s a really good player. Of course, we brought [DE] Jared Crick in. [A guy] that we had in Houston. He’s a very good player also. We have two veteran guys that can play. We feel good about that.”
Walker is entering his eighth year in the NFL, second with the Broncos and fourth consecutive year in the AFC West after forgettable back-to-back seasons in Oakland and Kansas City. His status as a late draft pick by Atlanta in 2009 still motivates him.
“Being a seventh round pick, I feel like I always have something to prove. I mean that is just my mentality,” he said.
He will certainly get his opportunity to prove he can win the job. Jackson left for Jacksonville after a very impressive year, and Walker believes he is set up for a similar one in Phillips’ system this season.
“It’s definitely my favorite system I’ve played in, in the league,” he declared. “They definitely let you play to your strengths. If there are things you are better at they will let you do it. You don’t get that really at all with any coach in other systems, and I think that is our biggest strength is having coaches that really care about the players and know what they can do.”
Every season, teammates find themselves competing for jobs long before they begin to compete against players in other organizations. Walker has the luxury of contributing last season but certainly understands that as training camp approaches he must cement himself as Jackson’s successor.
Quietly but undoubtedly sure of himself, he will be ready for the test ahead, training camp in five week’s time.
